NRL Market Watch: Penrith to re-sign Dylan Edwards and Liam Martin, Jarome Luai future

Jarome Luai’s future at the foot of the mountains is under a serious cloud following revelations Dylan Edwards will re-sign with Liam Martin on monster long-term deals. NRL Market Watch.

Liam Martin, Jarome Luai and Dylan Edwards.

Penrith is close to announcing a long-term deal for star fullback Dylan Edwards worth around $950,000 a season - so where does that leave Jarome Luai’s future at the star-studded club?

Edwards’ upgraded deal will span four to five years and almost certainly ensure he remains a one-club player.

His impending retention comes just a day after this masthead revealed Panthers forward Liam Martin was ready to sign a new three-year contract at the club worth $2.3m.

With two of the club’s three unsigned stars now nailed down, a nervous Luai is the last player awaiting a new deal.

Panthers management believes the club can squeeze Edwards, Martin and Luai into the club’s cluttered salary cap.

Edwards and Luai come off contract after next season and are free to field offers from November 1.

Luai could attract massive money if he chose to enter the open market after November 1 with at least five clubs ready to pounce.

Penrith are in a fight to re-sign Jarome Luai and Dylan Edwards. Picture: NRL Images

Edwards, his manager George Mimis, and Panthers rugby league chief executive Matt Cameron have been locked in robust negotiations for three months with a deal just about finalised.

Only a shock and unexpected hitch could derail the contract.

Edwards will receive between $900,000 and $950,000 a season at Penrith in his new deal.

He could conceivably pull $1m a season at another club but Edwards wants to remain a Panther.

Edwards has performed well above his remuneration during recent seasons.

He wants to stay, the club wants him to re-sign and the money being offered is just about agreed on - the only sticking point is whether he signs for four or five seasons.

With Edwards’ contract just about finalised, the club has now retained Martin, Nathan Cleary, Brian To’o, Isaah Yeo and Moses Leota until at least the end of 2027.

Edwards is a Dorrigo junior who is among the club’s most popular players. He could easily retire as a 300-game one club player. Close associates of Edwards firmly believe he should never leave Penrith.

The unassuming fullback has been discussed as a NSW fullback candidate for the past two years but hasn’t been able, just yet, to slip past incumbent James Tedesco.

Panthers teammates Izack Tago and Soni Luke are on extended deals.

The Edwards deal is looming with an announcement expected sometime before the NRL finals series.

He will play fullback in Penrith’s game against Cronulla this Saturday night at BlueBet Stadium.

PANTHERS TO EXTEND MARTIN

- Phil Rothfield

Kangaroos forward Liam Martin is on the verge of signing a three-year $2.3 million contract extension at the Penrith Panthers.

It will take Martin through until the end of the 2027 season and will be announced on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Panthers edge forward is regarded as the best second-rower in the NRL.

His new contract will average out at just under $800,000 a season.

It is a huge result for the Panthers in that at least four rival clubs had expressed long-term interest, although they couldn’t officially negotiate until November 1.

That came after Martin last year agreed a one-year extension that kept him at the club until the end of 2024, giving both parties time to hammer out a longer-term deal.

Liam Martin in action against the Bulldogs. Picture: Izhar Khan/Getty Images

Martin was NSW’s best forward in the State of Origin series, despite limited game time in the first two matches.

The Panthers now have the bulk of their core players on long-term deals. Martin, Nathan Cleary, Brian To’o, Isaah Yeo and Moses Leota will remain at the foot of the mountains until at least the end of 2027, while James Fisher-Harris and Scott Sorensen (both 2026), and exciting young centre Izack Tago and hooker Soni Luke (both 2025) are also on extended contracts.

Martin’s signing still leaves Penrith with two big names to lock down – five-eighth Jarome Luai and fullback Dylan Edwards, both of whom are off contract at the end of next season and are looking for substantial upgrades.

Both players are able to sign with rival clubs from November 1, and would have to take less money than what they could earn elsewhere to stay with the two-time defending premiers.

The Panthers, however, are now accustomed to losing big names to rival clubs as a result of the salary cap pressure that comes with building premiership-winning rosters.

Following Penrith’s 2021 grand final win, Kurt Capewell joined Brisbane and Matt Burton left for Canterbury, with Viliame Kikau joining him a year later and Apisai Koroisau linking up with the Wests Tigers.

From this year’s side, representative centre Stephen Crichton is off to join his old Panthers teammates at the Bulldogs next year, while prop Spencer Leniu will switch to the Sydney Roosters.

Originally published as NRL Market Watch: Penrith to re-sign Dylan Edwards and Liam Martin, Jarome Luai future