Panthers coach Ivan Cleary says rumours of a potential player swap involving Izack Tago and Bulldogs centre Bronson Xerri are merely \u201cporky pies\u201d and someone is \u201clying\u201d about the situation.<\/p>\n
It comes after a bombshell report on the weekend that Xerri wanted out of Canterbury because he was allegedly going to be dropped for this week\u2019s game against Canberra.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs have denied the report, and that\u2019s been supported by Cleary who wants the NRL to introduce a transfer window to avoid the constant contract speculation that dominates the headlines during the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did hear about that. Someone\u2019s lying,\u201d the veteran coach said on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love him (Tago) but someone has made up a lie. I know it\u2019s good for you guys (the media) because you get to run with it, but someone is telling porky pies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t even spoken about it so it\u2019s not destabilising because someone just made up a lie.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happens a fair bit. It\u2019s part of the reason why our transfer system is an ordinary one because it\u2019s 365 days a year, so someone can just start something and it gets a little bit of a run.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully I\u2019m not going to give it any oxygen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tago has four premierships to his name but hasn\u2019t been a part of the starting Panthers side yet this season.<\/p>\n
He played reserve grade in round one and was part of the six-man bench in Bathurst on Saturday but didn\u2019t take the field against Cronulla.<\/p>\n
Tago is contracted until 2028, and his coach made it clear he remained a big part of Penrith\u2019s plans, even if he has lost his spot in the backline to Tom Jenkins who has started the year on fire. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll he can do at the moment is train the best he can to prepare,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mentioned after round one that his preparation was a little bit compromised through situations that weren\u2019t his fault.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a little unfortunate for him, but that\u2019s the way it is at the moment. I\u2019ve got all the faith in the world in \u2018Tags\u2019 because he\u2019s kept his head up and trained really hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach week he\u2019s a chance to get on the field anyway. He had a game in Cup and played really well which shows a couple of things \u2013 he can play and he\u2019s a good character.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a long hard year and we\u2019re going to need him. We just don\u2019t know when that\u2019s going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n