Penrith Panthers 2025 NRL season scouting report: Best 17, every player’s contract status, rookie watch
The losses of Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris are huge blows for Penrith, who face an uphill battle to defend their title. FATIMA KDOUH analyses the challenges facing the champions, rookies to watch and more.
And then there were six.
The emotional exits of Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris mean only half a dozen are left from the Panthers side that contested the first of their five straight grand finals in 2020.
Is this finally the year they lose the motivation? Or do they come back to the field just enough for a side to mercifully bring an end to their reign?
Fatima Kdouh examines the road ahead for the four-time reigning premiers, and whether Ivan Cleary can lead them to a fifth straight title.
Free agency wrap and rating
Penrith has switched tact in 2025, opting to rely on high-profile recruits to fill gaps in the top 30 roster rather than on the club’s next man up mentality and bargain buys strategy – which has served the club well in the past. Blaize Talagi, one of the NRL’s best up-and-coming talents, was poached from arch rivals Parramatta on a three-year deal to help fill the halves void left by Jarome Luai’s defection to the Wests Tigers. Isaiah Papali’i, who was set to earn $750,000 in 2025 at the Tigers, has been brought in to shore up backrow stocks. While high profile, both recruits carry an element of risk. Talagi is mostly untried as an NRL halves commodity but does have the advantage of versatility and can cover across multiple positions in the backline like at fullback and centre. Papali’i left the Tigers a shadow of the player he was during his time at Parramatta, but Penrith has proven transformational for a string of recruits that have arrived at the club. The likes of Scott Sorensen and Paul Alamoti have been able to take their game’s to the next level under the guidance of coach Ivan Cleary and Papali’i’s move to Penrith can reap a similar outcome.
Rating: A-
Coach status and safety rating
There is no greater insurance policy when it comes to head coaching than premiership wins, and Ivan Cleary has paid the premium four times over. Cleary is signed until the end of season 2027 and given his immense success at the helm at Penrith, his job as head coach is untouchable. Cleary comes in a package deal with son and champion halfback Nathan Cleary and the Panthers are already working to secure the duo for another five seasons, until the end of 2032, on a combined deal worth around $13 million. The only real threats to Cleary’s Panthers tenure is Penrith’s success stalling, which would raise questions about whether the coach’s time at the club has run its course, and the threat posed by expansion clubs willing to hand the coach an open checkbook.
Rating: A+
Likely debutant(s)
Harrison Hassett and Billy Scott are just two of the youngsters in line for NRL debuts in 2025. Scott, 20, is regarded as the best young talent coming through at club yet to debut. A crafty hooker, Scott will complete his first full NRL pre-season over the summer and has already impressed during his time in the NSW Cup last year. While Mitch Kenny has a lock on the starting hooker spot, an injury to the first choice No.9 could see Scott catapulted into the NRL side. Hassett, a former Australian Schoolboys captain and SG Ball player of the year, will also get a chance to debut during the Origin period but for now will have to bid his time behind the likes of Martin, Sorensen and Papali’i. The club also has high hopes for Forbes junior Billy Phillips, who like Scott recently committed to remaining at the foot of the mountains until the end of 2027. But a debut for the 20-year old forward is only likely to come through a spate of injuries in the pack.
Who takes the next step
Penrith’s premiership departure lounge has opened the door for two youngsters to step up in 2025. Sunia Turuva’s exit to the Wests Tigers has paved the way for boom teenage back Casey McLean to start on the wing in round one. McLean was a revelation for New Zealand in the Pacific Championship, capping off an NRL debut in 2024 with a four-try haul for the Kiwis against Papua New Guinea. McLean played 7 games late in the season, mostly at centre, before losing out on selection for the finals run when Paul Alamoti returned from injury. A solid pre-season will set-up McLean with a chance to cement a starting spot in 2025. Lindsay Smith is the frontrunner to replace Fisher-Harris up front, despite suggestions that role could go to Martin. Smith, who’s form was rewarded with Kangaroos selection, is a hard working reliable forward. But to match Fisher-Harris’ intensity and reputation as an enforcer, Smith will have to find a new level of aggression and mongrel in his game in 2025, which will help the 24-year old step-up and take his game to the next level.
Three burning issues
Halves change
Luai proved to be more valuable than simply being a foil to star halfback Nathan Cleary. He turned chief playmaker and game manager when Cleary was sidelined for large chunks of 2024. That halves safety net is now gone and any injury to Cleary will be left to youngster Blaize Talagi and fringe halves Brad Schneider, Jack Cole and Trent Toelau. As effective as Penrith’s next-man-up mentality has been, there is no denying the offerings in Cleary’s absence are a class, even two, below what Luai had to offer. All eyes will also be firmly on Talagi, who’ll get first crack at five-eighth as Cleary’s understudy to start the season. He’s usurped the likes of Schneider and Cole in the halves pecking order but ultimately is an untried commodity at no.6 having only played two NRL games in the position at Parramatta last season. His ability to handle the transition and responsibility in Penrith’s spine will be crucial to Penrith’s competitiveness, especially if Cleary finds himself in the casualty ward again next season.
Unlocking Isaiah Papali’i
Can Ivan Cleary get the same value that Parramatta got out of Papali’i? That’s the $750,000 question at the Panthers in 2025. The backrower rose to his best during his time at the Eels but Papali’i by his own admission did not emulate anywhere near that form at the struggling Wests Tigers. At his best, Papali’i is an elite backrower but will easily find himself out of the top 17 if he fails to perform at Penrith. His arrival is also likely to spark a forward pack shake-up. There is a view Blues hardman Liam Martin will start at prop in place of Warriors bound James Fisher-Harris, allowing Papali’i to start in the backrow alongside the reliable Scott Sorensen. There’s no doubting Martin’s aggression or toughness but using him as a battering ram could be seen as weakening one position to strengthen another.
Five-peat motivation
Last season Coach Ivan Cleary spoke in terms that had never been heard before during Penrith premiership reign. Cleary publicly questioned his side’s motivation to win another title. While the public admonishment achieved its desired result, the question for Penrith is how long this championship side can remain motivated and whether Cleary can ensure the hunger for more success doesn’t wane. Penrith have the systems and talent production line in place to be successful, but the desire to keep winning premierships could be what makes or breaks Penrith in 2025 and beyond.
Crystal ball
Even though the Panthers have lost the likes of Api Koroisau, Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton during its premiership dynasty, the exits of five-eighth Jarome Luai and enforcer James Fisher-Harris are arguably Penrith’s biggest blow to the top 30 roster so far. Any side that loses the calibre of Luai and Fisher-Harris will take a hit to its competitiveness. Penrith are too well coached to write-off as a premiership force, especially with halfback Nathan Cleary at the helm. A fifth-straight title given the personnel losses feels like a stretch too far in 2025 but a top four finish is in the club’s sights.
2025 odds
Winners: $4.50
Minor premiership: $4.50
Top 4: $1.65
Top 8: $1.15
Most losses: $151
*Odds courtesy of TAB
SuperCoach Draft rankings: Ultimate guide to win your league
The 2025 season is almost upon us, which means its time to assemble your league and get DRAFTING! This is your ultimate guide to the best players at every position.
Ripped recruit Fonua-Blake hints at new role in Sharks pack
Addin Fonua-Blake is looking fitter, faster and stronger after a pre-season in Sharks colours, with the dynamic forward alluding to a change of his playing style under Craig Fitzgibbon in 2025.