The Penrith Panthers makes aggressive bid to sign star player for $850,000 one season.
Ivan Cleary has called prospective Panther David Fifita a’marquee player’, as the Gold Coast wrecking ball prepares to make a decision on his NRL future in the coming days.
To stay with the Titans in 2025, barnstorming second-rower Fifita must exercise a player option in his contract by round 10, which begins on Thursday.
The 24-year-old flew to Sydney and spoke with Panthers officials on Sunday evening, with the three-time champions in position to make a lucrative offer now that James Fisher-Harris is going to join the Warriors in 2025.
The Panthers are understood to have tabled Fifita a long-term deal worth an estimated $850,000 a season from 2025 but Cleary held his cards close to his chest when pressed on Monday.
The Penrith Panthers are understood to have tabled the barnstorming Fifita (pictured) a deal worth an estimated $850,000 a season
‘It’s obviously a very sensitive issue, all recruitment,’ the Penrith coach said.
‘It affects a lot of people at clubs, players, agents, families. I think we’ve probably filled our quota for recruitment stories this year so I’m not going to discuss it today.’
Fifita could slot into Penrith’s left second-row spot, which has featured a rotating cast since Viliame Kikau joined Canterbury for 2023.
Scott Sorensen is currently the first-choice second-rower on that edge, though he arrived at the club as a middle forward and could be switched back to accommodate Fifita’s arrival.
‘He’s a marquee player,’ Cleary said of Fifita
Regardless of the probable recruit, Cleary was open to adjusting his team for 2025, having learned from last season’s sluggish start and many player departures.
‘We’re always seeking to evolve,’ he explained.
‘If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll get passed. There is always the risk that if you do it too frequently, you will lose sight of what you are goodat.
It’s a bit of a balance. We got that a little bit wrong early last year.’
It’s an unfamiliar position for the NRL’s heavyweight side, famed for its ability to scout and develop elite junior prospects; only six players who made their debuts elsewhere have won a grand final with the Panthers in the last three years.
The funds to lure a big fish have also eluded the Panthers in recent years as their local talents’ pay packets have increased.
Cleary credited Kurt Capewell and Api Koroisau’s arrivals for the 2020 season as the last major arrivals at the club, though a case could be made that it hasn’t been since James Maloney in 2018 that a household name was lured to Penrith.
‘It’s different,’ Cleary said of the current situation.
‘Our mandate at the club is to build from within.
‘We spend a lot of time and money and effort in that regard and we still will. But from time to time, if you don’t have that, you’ve got to look outside.’
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