NRL 2024 roster rater: Penrith Panthers squad ranked, most important players revealed
They boast the game’s best player, but can Penrith’s patched-up 2024 squad defy their NRL rivals and make more premiership history. FATIMA KDOUH rates every player in Penrith’s top 25.
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Ivan Cleary has proved to be a master at retooling a squad that has allowed Penrith to claim the league’s first three peat in 30 years.
And he’ll have to do it again after losing star centre Stephen Crichton, impact forward Spencer Leniu and playmaking back-up Jack Cogger in their chase for a fourpeat.
FATIMA KDOUH rates Penrith’s 2024 roster.
2024 PENRITH PANTHERS ROSTER RATER
25. MAVRICK GEYER
Age: 22
Games: 0 (2023 games: 0)
Contract ends: 2025
Geyer played 23 games in the NSW Cup for Penrith last year and will again be forced to bide his time in reserve grade again in season 2024. The backrower has a big engine and routinely punches out 80 minutes but a regular NRL spot in 2024 is unlikely unless for injury.
24. JACK COLE
Age: 20
Games: 1 (2023 games: 0)
Contract ends: 2026
Cole debuted in 2022 but played all of last season in NSW Cup as Ivan Cleary continued to nurture Cole’s development. The crafty five-eighth will again be a depth player in the squad for 2024 but will get opportunities around Origin time and as cover for injuries. The youngster can also play at centre if needed.
23. PAUL ALAMOTI
Age: 19
Games: 19 (2023 games: 19)
Contract ends: 2024
With proved outside back talents like Taylan May and Sunia Turuva ahead of him in the pecking order, Alamoti will likely have to bide his time before a start in Penrith’s 17. Alamoti has size, power and can cause headaches in attack, it’s his defence that needs the most work in 2024.
22. JESSE MCLEAN
Age: 19
Games: 1 (2023 games: 1)
Contract ends: 2026
McLean can play at fullback, centre or on the wing but is poised for more time in the NSW Cup, at least early in 2024, with spots in the outside backs to the likes of Taylan May, Sunia Turuva and mainstays Izack Tago and Brian To’o.
21. DAINE LAURIE
Age: 24
Games: 52 (2023 games: 11)
Contract ends: 2024
Laurie’s greatest impact on this well established side will be the playmaker’s versatility. He can cover at fullback for Dylan Edwards and even in the halves for Cleary and Luai. Quick with deft hands, he’ll be vying for a bench spot as a utility but that role is likely to go to Peachey, Soni Luke or rookie Luke Sommerton.
20. MATT EISENHUTH
Age: 31
Games: 116 (2023 games: 11)
Contract ends: 2024
Eisenhuth has been a competent forward depth addition to Ivan Cleary’s squad. The forward was used up front, at lock and from the bench across his 11 games in 2023 and much of the same is expected this season. Will only come into the 17 as cover for injury.
19. SONI LUKE
Age: 27
Games: 24 (2023 games: 20)
Contract ends: 2025
Just when Luke’s spot as the no.14 looked secure, Ivan Cleary opted to go into the finals series with Tyrone Peachey on the bench. Luke will now not only have to compete with Peachey for that utility role but also with rising hooker Luke Summerton over the pre-season in a bid to reclaim that spot in season 2024.
18. ZAC HOSKING
Age: 25
Games: 26 (2023 games: 21)
Contract ends: 2024
Hosking was dropped from the side during the finals series and looks set for a summer trying to win a bench spot ahead of Luke Garner to start the 2024. Whether he plays in round one or resigned to a stint in NSW Cup, Hosking brings an uncompromising work ethic which has underpinned the Panthers success in recent years.
17. TAYLAN MAY
Age: 22
Games: 22 (2023 games: 0)
Contract ends: 2024
An ACL injury kept May sidelined in 2023 but the winger will have returned to full training ahead of the new season. It’s expected May will return to the wing but the youngster has expressed an interest in playing in the centres and will challenge for the spot vacated by Crichton over the summer.
16. LUKE GARNER
Age: 28
Games: 87 (2023 games: 12)
Contract ends: 2024
Garner regained his place in the side after losing it to Zac Hosking following a rub injury. He’ll play a similar role in 2024 to what the backrower did last year, coming off the bench for Scott Sorensen and Liam Martin on the edges.
15. SUNIA TURUVA
Age: 21
Games: 29 (2023 games: 26)
Contract ends: 2024
The rookie of the year is expected to get closer to the action in 2024 as Stephen Crichton’s replacement in the centres. Turuva isn’t the biggest outside back but the winger possesses deceptive strength shown through the 124 tackle busts and 17 line breaks in season 2023.
14. TYRONE PEACHEY
Age: 32
Games: 207 (2023 games: 15)
Contract ends: 2024
Signed as a depth player, Peachey ended up playing a crucial role in Penrith’s 2023 title campaign as the side’s ‘Mr Fix It’. Whether it was at centre or from the bench as a utility, Peachey excelled in either role and looks to have edged ahead as Ivan Cleary’s preferred no.14 ahead of season 2024.
13. MITCH KENNY
Age: 25
Games: 83 (2023 games: 23)
Contract ends: 2024
Kenny had a rocky start to his time in Api Koroisau’s no.9 jumper to start 2023 but the tough and uncompromising hooker has proven to be a worthy replacement for Koroisau in the spine where he averaged 39 tackles a game, at 90 per cent efficiency. Will again be the starting hooker in round one.
12. IZACK TAGO
Age: 21
Games: 48 (2023 games: 16)
Contract ends: 2025
Hamstring and pectoral injuries limited Tago’s impact in 2023 but the rising centre is expected to bounce back in a big way in 2024. Tago is poised to rise as the club’s best centre, now that Stephen Crichton is a Bulldog, on the back of his power, strength and skill.
11. LINDSAY SMITH
Age: 23
Games: 27 (2023 games: 23)
Contract ends: 2026
Smith will be charged with taking over Leniu’s role as the impact forward off the bench. The rising forward was an integral part of last year’s forward rotation and his role, and impact, will only increase in 2024.
10. SCOTT SORENSEN
Age: 30
Games: 105 (2023 games: 23)
Contract ends: 2026
Sorensen’s impact has only increased with every season at Penrith and now owns the right edge spot, and will do that same in 2024. Hard working and ever reliable, Sorensen will also take on the job as Luai’s bodyguard early in the season as the five-eighth returns from a shoulder injury.
8. BRAD SCHNEIDER
Age: 22
Games: 33 NRL games, 12 Super League (2023 games: 11)
Contract ends: 2025
Like Sean O’Sullivan and Jack Cogger before him, Schneider will play a crucial role as the understudy to halves Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai. Schneider will step in during Origin period and as cover in case of injury to Cleary or Luai.
9. BRIAN TO’O
Age: 25
Games: 93 (2023 games: 23)
Contract ends: 2027
A powerhouse from the backfield, To’o averaged 200 metres per game last season. That work rate, particularly early in sets, played a crucial role in laying the platform for Penrith’s attacking raids. He finished 2023 with 21 tries from 23 games.
7. MOSES LEOTA
Age: 28
Games: 149 (2023 games: 26)
Contract ends: 2027
Leota has stepped out of the shadow of pack mate Fisher-Harris to become one of the best props in the game, in his own right. Leota turned up the dial on his intimidation factor over the last 12 months and won’t take a backward step in 2024.
6. JAROME LUAI
Age: 26
Games: 107 (2023 games: 22)
Contract ends: 2024
Luai has been the perfect foil for Cleary over the last four seasons and 2024 will be no different. Unlike Cleary’s well rehearsed approach, Luai adds energy and spontaneity to Penrith’s attack with his off-the-cuff, eye up football - but questions around his future could cause some anst at the foot of the mountains in 2024.
5. LIAM MARTIN
Age: 26
Games: 104 (2023 games: 18)
Contract ends: 2027
Arguably the best backrower in the game, Martin has forged a reputation as Penrith’s hit man. His contribution on the edge, and on both sides of the ball, have made Martin as crucial of a pack member as props Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota.
4. JAMES FISHER-HARRIS
Age: 27
Games: 180 (2023 games: 23)
Contract ends: 2026
Fisher-Harris matches Payne Haas for consistency but beats the Brisbane prop on aggression, which has been the cornerstone of his game. He’ll need that in spades in 2024 after the side lost Spencer Leniu, leaving Penrith with a hole in the physicality department.
3. DYLAN EDWARDS
Age: 27
Games: 131 (2023 games: 26)
Contract ends: 2028
Has risen to emerge as one of the game’s elite fullbacks and now in his own right as important to the Panthers spine as playmakers Cleary and Luai. With 12 line breaks, 155 tackle breaks and six try assists, Edwards is a key cog in Penrith’s attack.
2. ISAAH YEO
Age: 28
Games: 220 (2023 games: 24)
Contract ends: 2027
Yeo is the glue in the middle of the field. He’s also the conduit in attack between both sides of the field as the side’s third playmaker behind Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai. Yeo can also take pressure off his halves to create in attack thanks to his highly developed playmaking.
1. NATHAN CLEARY
Age: 25
Games: 159 (2023 games: 22)
Contract ends: 2027
Methodical and precise, Cleary showed he is as instinctive as he is clinical, taking the grand final by the scruff to single-handedly turn the 2023 decider on its head. Cleary isn’t only the best player in the game and will be the architect of Penrith’s chances for a historic four-straight premierships in 2024.
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