Penrith Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo has pleaded star five-eighth and three-time premiership winner teammate Jarome Luai to remain at the club despite being linked with an exit from the club.
The star five-eighth, who is off-contract at the end of 2024, has theย Penrith Panthers,ย Wests Tigersย andย Canterbury Bulldogs all believed to be interested.
According to News Corp, it is also understood that a decision regarding his future will be made by the time he returns for pre-season training on December 8.
That means Luai has just over two weeks to determine where he will be playing his rugby league from 2025 onwards.
Theย Wests Tigersย are believed to have formally put their offer to Luai's new management on Thursday, totalling about $4.5 million for four years, while the Bulldogs are believed to have expressed interest but as yet haven't put an offer to Luai.
While the decision from Luai may be imminent, the Panthers have confirmed they won't be matching the bid, but reports have suggested they have offered the representative star a two-year contract extension worth $1.7 million.
"He's obviously got a big decision, he's obviously got a young family now," Yeo said on Friday viaย WWOS, pleading with him to remain at the Panthers.
"I can see both sides to it, but obviously with my Penrith bias, I'd love him to stay."
The Panthers co-captain also discussed how the entire club's playing group have pleaded their cases with him as to why he should remain with the three-time consecutive NRL premiers.
"It would be very disappointing, obviously Ivan (Cleary, coach) has come out, but I think all the players have spoken about how much we want him to stay," Yeo added.
"He's a massive part of this team, the culture we've created here. He's a wonderful driver of our culture and one of the big reasons we are where we are.
"I'd love him to stay and be a part of this for a long time yet, but we'll see how we go.
