{"id":490113,"date":"2026-02-19T12:29:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/490113\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:29:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:29:30","slug":"panthers-lock-down-local-junior-on-contract-extension-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/490113\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers lock down local junior on contract extension – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Penrith Panthers<\/a> have announced the re-signing of backrower Lindsay Smith<\/a> for a further three years.<\/p>\n

The resilient prop will stay on the foot of the mountains for at least another three years, where he has picked up two premiership rings in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

The St Mary’s junior has been in the Panthers system since 14, and has progressed to see him make his Australian Kangaroos debut in 2024.<\/p>\n

Head coach Ivan Cleary<\/a> says he is an integral part of the side and is relieved to have him stay on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cLindsay is a tremendous asset to our team, both in what he delivers on the field and the standards he sets every day at training. His work ethic, consistency, and physicality are invaluable to our forward pack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith has developed strongly into a leader in the Panthers side since his NRL<\/a> debut in 2021, which has also got him a NSW Blues<\/a> squad call-up in 2025.<\/p>\n

Panthers CEO Matt Cameron says he has become a strong role model for future players and embodies what it means to be a Panther.<\/p>\n

\u201cLindsay is not only an outstanding footballer, he’s an exceptional person who represents this club with humility and pride. He is a terrific fit for our culture and a role model for our younger players coming through the system. His re-signing is an example of our club’s built-from-within mantra.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith showed great resilience early in his career when he bounced back from two shoulder reconstructions back-to-back before his NRL<\/a> debut, and has now been rewarded for his hard work with a long-term extension.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Get set for the footy with the FREE Zero Tackle 2026 NRL Season Guide!<\/a> Packed with 130+ pages of player profiles, team previews, insights and analysis, the 2026 NRL Season Guide<\/a> is built for fans who want the full picture. Download your free Season Guide HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Penrith Panthers have announced the re-signing of backrower Lindsay Smith for a further three years. The resilient…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-490113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}