Penrith Panthers star Nathan Cleary gives his blessing to the signing of “exciting” Parramatta Eels talent Blaize Talagi

“Sean has extraordinary talent and outstanding performance as a player, but as a person, his impact on the Warriors organization over the years has been equally tremendous.

“I know Sean has not made this decision lightly and he will be leaving with the full support of the club and his colleagues.”

Seahawks look to turbocharge heading into finals

Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans says Tom Trbojevic’s impressive return to form since being sidelined for eight weeks with a hamstring injury is a ray of hope for the Sea Eagles, backing his star defender to finish the home and away season strongly.

Trbojevic missed the interstate Origin series after sustaining an injury in May, but returned to action in Manly’s 21-20 win over North Queensland last month before scoring in both of the team’s games against Newcastle and the Gold Coast.

Trbojevic told our reporter that he felt refreshed after “taking a short break” on the sidelines, adding that he was “happy to be back playing football.”

“I feel good… Now it’s just a matter of being diligent, focusing on the process, working hard, and we’ll see what results we’ll get.”

Manly will be counting on Trbojevic to perform well in the final sprint of the regular season as the club bids for its first finals appearance since 2021. The Sea Eagles are seventh in the table after their round 22 bye and have a chance to finish in the top four with five games remaining.

Cherry-Evans said Trbojevic’s “fresh blood” would be very useful for a Manly side that had squandered chances to reach the last eight in recent years.

“We’re in a really good spot this year,” Cherry-Evans said. “We probably do need to learn from the past few years and the things that didn’t go well … so I think we need to combine those experiences and lessons learned and play the style that we know we need to get to where we want to be.”

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While giving his players some rest during the bye, Manly coach Anthony Siebold has been working hard to improve his side’s start after defensive errors put them at a disadvantage.

That included four unanswered tries by Manly in their most recent game against the Roosters, which they lost 34-30.

Trbojevic admitted his side were “a little disappointing” against the Roosters but insisted they can still “cause damage” when they are at their best.

Manly will face the Raiders, who are also challenging for the finals, away on Saturday.

Talagi’s signature is alluring

Nathan Cleary has heaped praise on his potential future partner Blaize Talagi, praising the maturity he has shown ahead of Friday night’s clash in Western Sydney.

Cleary welcomed the Eels teenager’s imminent arrival next year after the Panthers snuck past their arch-rivals’ defence as they got a head start on snagging one of the hottest talents in the league today.

Taraji has given up his youth club and signed a three-year contract to join the Panthers, which will be officially announced after the NRL’s cooling-off period ends.

The 19-year-old will replace Jarome Luai at half-back alongside Cleary, with Jack Cole also a strong contender for the long-term No.6 role.

The Dragons, Dolphins and Knights have all been contacted if Taraji leaves the Eels, while Penrith have shown less interest in Taraji as coach Ivan Cleary met with the youngster to discuss a move.

There is an interesting subplot as the league title-chasing Penrith team take on its 2022 grand final opponents at CommBank Stadium on Friday night, with Talagi also coming face to face with his future team-mates.

“He’s a fantastic player,” Cleary said after masterminding Penrith’s win over the Knights on Sunday. “He’s only 19 but has so much talent. We play him this week so we’ll get a taste of the game first-hand. He’s very exciting.

“I haven’t spoken to him yet. I leave it to the old man (coach Ivan). But I might speak to him after the game.

“We still have ‘Romi’ (Luai) here and I want to enjoy my time with him as they are coming to the end. For a youngster to have the confidence to come into first grade and play like Blaise does and play in multiple positions is very impressive.”

Talagi has already scored 10 times in his first NRL season and will battle it out with Canberra’s Ethan Strange and the Dolphins’ Jack Bostock and Max Plath for Dally M Rookie of the Year honours.

He saw what life might be like next year Clearly plotting the Panthers’ latest win The match at the BlueBet Stadium saw them close to two points behind top-placed Storm with five rounds remaining.

This was Cleary’s third game since returning from a serious hamstring injury that kept him out of the Interstate Origin Series.

When asked about the changes in training schedule, Cleary said: “I had to give up a lot of the kicking and do more work with weights and speed runs and other things. We probably looked at it as a whole, (and) we probably didn’t do enough.

“I move more towards the psychological level and try to achieve that through visualization rather than always relying on physical repetition.”

Daine Laurie, who missed the game against the Knights due to the NRL’s 11-day concussion protocol, will feature for the Panthers this week, paving the way for Isaiah Iongi, who grew up in Queensland, to make his NRL debut on Sunday.

“Even in training, it was unbelievable,” Iongi said of playing alongside Cleary. “He’s the best player in the sport. It was my debut playing alongside him and it was incredible.”

Storm intensifies Papenhuysen talks

The Storm have taken further steps to block Ryan Papenhuyzen from hitting the open market and preventing him from approaching deep-pocketed rivals such as the Eels, with Melbourne boss Matt Tripp hoping a new contract extension can be completed “in weeks rather than months”.

If Papenhuysen doesn’t re-sign before Nov. 1, the start of the final year of his Storm contract, he’ll be among the top free agents.

The Clive Churchill Medallist has been plagued by injuries recently but has been in excellent form since returning to the Stormers squad this year.

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The Eels would be among the potential suitors if the Western Sydney youngster fails to agree a new contract with the Storm, but Tripp has spoken to Melbourne management with a proposal to extend Papenhuysen’s contract for another three years, keeping him at the club until the end of 2028.

“We hope to get a deal soon,” Tripp said. “We’ve just started the negotiations, but when both sides are willing, a deal is usually reached. Hopefully, the negotiations will last weeks, not months.”

“He’s been so important to us. He’s the barometer of the team. When he’s on the field, we win games, I know that. He’s had bad luck and he’s been injured a lot, but when he’s on the field, our team is better and he can have an impact like any player in the game.”

The Storm have yet to formally propose a new contract to Papenhuysen’s management, but if they can lock him in until the end of 2028, it would mean he becomes the longest-dealer of the big four, along with Harry Grant (2026), Jarome Hughes (2026) and Cameron Munster (2027).

Tripp insists the club can keep hold of Papenhuysen and Gunners defender Sua Falog, who signed a contract extension until 2028 earlier this year.

and Daniel Lo Surdo

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