Are “alarm bells” ringing at the Panthers and Tigers following Jarome Luai’s shock defection to the PNG Chiefs from 2028?

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Following some surprise comments from Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo, they just might be.

Yeo is one of several Panthers who are off contract at the end of 2027, hence, can test the open market from November 1.

Fielding questions about his future, Yeo was honest, admitting several Panthers will see what they’re worth.

“I’m off contract with a lot of the boys here. You are going to have to be open minded at the end of the year,” he said,

“It’s hard because you are waiting for dominos to fall, and that’s probably Ivan and Nathan (Cleary) to go.

“That would be the club’s first plan and then off the back of that they will make the priority signings.”

Yeo was then asked directly if he would hit the open market.

“I think we probably all will,” he replied.

Yeo, Brian To’o, Nathan Cleary, Mitch Kenny and Liam Martin are just a number of Penrith stars who have current deals through until the end of 2027.

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NRL360 host Braith Anasta found Yeo’s comments “interesting” and indicated that Penrith fans may be worried.

“I found it interesting. Nothing wrong with it but I didn’t expect it from Isaah Yeo. Very open and very honest,” Anasta said.

“He said he’s entertaining the idea and that it’s going to be hard to keep all the players and that to me is alarm bells.”

“He said they’re all considering it. I think he said we’ll all go to market which I find astonishing,” journalist Brent Read added.

On Tuesday night’s episode of NRL360, Anasta and the panel listed several former teammates of Luai who are November 1 guys this year, with To’o and Martin raised as potential names who could be most likely to follow Luai.

“We were speculating last night on when we said look at all these players and it could mean nothing or it could mean something and I think it means something,” Anasta said.

The former Roosters and Bulldogs star who also works as a player agent for the likes of Cam Munster, Lachlan Ilias and Jonah Pezet.

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“I’ll put my agent’s cap on for this. If you’re an agent, and this is where the Tigers might feel the pain is the players like Sunia Turuva and the May brothers, even if they have no intention to go to PNG, they can leverage this position,” Anasta said.

“The agent goes to the Chiefs and go ‘we want to come’ even if they don’t. This is the reality. Then they put in an offer and the (agent) goes back to the Tigers and say you have to up your offer so the Tigers get stung on each contract.”

Read agreed, believing that several players who hit the open market on November 1 will only do so to see what PNG and their tax-free salaries have to offer.

“The worry is when they say we’re going to market on November 1, they aren’t going to market to see what PNG is offering. They aren’t going to market for any other club,” Read said.

In some good news for the Tigers, reports have emerged that the club have resumed talks with star prop Terrell May.