Instead, the forgotten Penrith playmaker continued his dominance in reserve grade as speculation heats up regarding his long-term future at the club.<\/p>\n
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At the club since the age of 15, Cole has moved down the halves pecking order in recent seasons following the arrival of Blaize Talagi and Jack Cogger.<\/p>\n
However, that hasn\u2019t stopped him from making a statement whenever he plays.<\/p>\n
Barely an hour after the Panthers took Melbourne Storm to the cleaners in Round 5 of the NRL season, Cole did the exact same in the NSW Cup competition.<\/p>\n
Providing two try assists and two line-break assists, he helped lead the club to a 40-12 win with his attacking skill on full display.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m definitely very open-minded to it, as I\u2019m sure everyone is. Like I said, it is a business and you\u2019ve got to do what\u2019s best for you,\u201d Cole told NCA Newswire this week about potentially exiting the Panthers.<\/p>\n
Jack Cole starred in reserve grade.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI love everything about Penrith. I love the boys, love the coaching staff, love what they\u2019ve done for me as well. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf there wasn\u2019t an opportunity here for me at the end of the year to progress or play consistent NRL, then you\u2019d obviously have to try to have a look.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut me trying to play well is just going to help the cause of them wanting to keep me or getting interest from somewhere else. So it\u2019ll come when it does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a former Dragons reject sent a statement to the rest of the competition with a scintillating display and a Raiders hooker has pushed his case for NRL selection.<\/p>\n
MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n
PREDICTED BLUES TEAM: Laurie\u2019s gamble with TEN changes, $85k rise complete<\/a><\/p>\n PREDICTED QLD TEAM: Man to fill Walsh void as star returns amid seven changes<\/a><\/p>\n TEAMS RD 6: Flanno\u2019s bold Dragons call; Broncos\u2019 big changes as exiled Dog back <\/a><\/p>\n Crawley unloads on Dragons’ recruitment | 03:26<\/p>\n ALL EYES WERE ON\u2026<\/p>\n A fortnight after running for 250 metres and two try assists for the Rabbitohs, Matthew Dufty\u2019s dominance in the NSW Cup has continued.<\/p>\n The best performer across all reserve grade matches in the last round, Dufty had a miraculous 326 running metres, two line-breaks, one try assist and also crossed over the line for three tries.<\/p>\n Dufty played 82 first grade games for St George Illawarra between 2017 and 2021 and played a season with the Bulldogs before spending three seasons in the Super League with Warrington.<\/p>\n Currently on a NSWRL (NSW Cup) contract, don\u2019t be surprised if he gets elevated to an NRL deal over the coming weeks and potentially be used as a back-up for Jye Gray in the fullback role.<\/p>\n In the same match, Bulldogs winger Jethro Rinakama scored a try and made three line-breaks in his return from injury as they fell 36-10.<\/p>\n Luke Hanson may have made his NRL debut a couple of weeks ago and now it looks like halves partner Jett Cleary will soon follow.<\/p>\n Jett Cleary is nearing an NRL debut.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n Cleary continues to dominate reserve grade and led the Warriors to a 26-24 win over the Newtown Jets, his perormance including a try and two linebreaks.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bishop Neal ran for over 170 metres and has been rewarded with a starting spot for this week\u2019s match.<\/p>\n Wests Tigers fans may be worried that fullback Jahream Bula will depart the club as early at the end of the season but Jack Attard has shown the future could still be bright.<\/p>\n The 2024 Australian Schoolboy had arguably his best game to date in Tigers colours over the weekend with two line-breaks, one try assist, 97 running metres and a try of his own.<\/p>\n