Penrith coach Ivan Cleary‘s pledge to off-contract stars

Penrith’s premiership-winning teams have been broken up by rival NRL clubs, but coach Ivan Cleary has made a case for others to stay.

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has put the case for his players to stay at the club. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has no issues if any of his players want to leave to earn more money, but he says the chance to win more premierships and be happy at a successful club is a pretty good reason for them to stay.

The Panthers are on the brink of becoming one of the great teams in rugby league history as they chase a third title in a row, but they’ve also paid the price for their success, with stars like Api Koroisau, Viliame Kikau and Matt Burton moving on in recent years and Stephen Crichton set to depart at the end of 2023.

It’s why champion five-eighth Jarome Luai has also been linked with a move away from the foot of the mountains, with the club’s salary cap being tested. Several stars have already signed new deals, while Dylan Edwards is on the verge of extending his contract and NSW Origin star Liam Martin signed a new deal keeping him at Penrith until the end of 2027.

“I think there are plenty of stories of people who leave for money, which is fine, but at the end of the day I think your happiness, a good culture and winning are pretty cool,” Cleary said.

“That’s hopefully an enticing factor.

Jarome Luai could leave Penrith. Picture: NRL Photos

“The fact is these guys can probably get more money elsewhere, but we still feel like we can pay them what they’re worth and let them have an enjoyable experience.

“I don’t like to influence people too much. At the end of the day, they’ve got to do what suits them and their family. All we can do is provide the environment that we do. I feel like we do a decent job and we plan on doing that in the future as well.”

Martin, who made his NRL debut in 2019 for the Panthers, and has played 95 NRL games, nine State of Origin matches for NSW and five Tests for Australia, said it was the culture which kept him at the club.

“I’m really excited to stay at the club that gave me my first opportunity,” Martin said.

“I think the culture we’re building at the club is something special and something I want to be a part of.”

OFFICIAL ✍🏽 Liam Martin has extended his stay at Panthers.

📝 https://t.co/1dqDhl6YDG#pantherpride 🐾 pic.twitter.com/OzVaZfy9LB

— Penrith Panthers 🏆🏆 (@PenrithPanthers) July 27, 2023

The premiers already had superstars Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Brian To’o and Moses Leota signed until 2027, but securing Luai’s services on a long-term deal could be challenging.

The rep star just got rid of his manager and could command huge offers from rivals if he hits the open market on November 1, but Cleary is “confident” that they can sort something out.

“Romey is one that we definitely want to keep, and we know he wants to stay here,” he said.

“It’s not something that we’re just going to do in quick time. It’s going to be a bit of a process to make sure it all works out.

“It hasn’t been easy with any signing that we’ve had in the last 12 months.

“All our boys’ values are going up, and that’s a credit to them and the club as well. We’re trying our best to keep a certain core of this team.

“We’re still sad about the guys that are leaving, but that’s unfortunate and it happens sometimes.”

Dylan Edwards is expected to stay. Picture: Izhar Khan/Getty Images

Cleary confirmed there would be some good news very soon about Martin’s future at the club, while Edwards is also expected to stay put.

Both players came through the system, and Cleary says that approach won’t change going forward and it’s why they’ve been able to stay successful despite losing so many players.

“The No.1 strategy of our team is to try to win as much as we can,” he said.

“It’s also the mandate of our club to grow our own players, so you can’t just keep the same team the whole time. We’ve got to keep bringing young players through. It’s how we’ve always done it and it’s how we always will do it.

“If we want to keep a player, then I think they’ve got a pretty good club to play for.”