{"id":852338,"date":"2026-08-12T07:04:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T07:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/852338\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T07:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T07:04:40","slug":"you-cant-compete-cleary-opens-up-on-brian-too-and-that-chiefs-deal-the-western-weekender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/852338\/","title":{"rendered":"“You can’t compete”: Cleary opens up on Brian To’o and that Chiefs deal \u2022 The Western Weekender"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Brian To’o. Photo: NRL Photos.<\/p>\n

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary says it\u2019s hard to imagine Brian To\u2019o wearing any other NRL jersey but that will be the reality in 2028 after the popular winger signed a three-year deal to join new franchise the PNG Chiefs.<\/p>\n

The rich contract will see To\u2019o link up with best mate and formers Panthers premiership winner Jarome Luai when the Chiefs enter the competition in less than two years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

Penrith announced To\u2019o\u2019s impending departure on Monday morning, sending shockwaves through the community and the rugby league world.<\/p>\n

While To\u2019o leaving after his current contract with the Panthers was certainly on the cards, no one expected it to be completed so soon, with NRL free agency not officially open until November 1.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Brian To\u2019o. Photo: NRL Photos.<\/p>\n

Speaking with the media on Wednesday morning, Cleary said the club allowed To\u2019o to negotiate with the Chiefs \u2013 and the Chiefs only \u2013 for one week to avoid anymore distractions leading into the all-important Finals period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had enough evidence that that was a possibility, so we just wanted to get it done,\u201d Cleary said of To\u2019o\u2019s interest in the Chiefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year there\u2019s been a lot of guys off-contract and the sooner we can sort that out the better, and I guess this was one of those instances.\u201d<\/p>\n

To\u2019o has played 151 games for the Panthers during his decorated eight-year NRL career, which started back in 2019. Cleary said the club would have loved to have re-signed the former Origin winger but that they could never compete with the amount of tax-free dollars the Chiefs were offering.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Panthers coach Ivan Cleary. Photo: NRL Photos.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course we wanted him to stay but I think everyone knows with the Chiefs that it\u2019s hard to match that stuff. It\u2019s not your average club but if players want to go there you can\u2019t compete,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think we run a pretty good program here [at Panthers] and the boys all know that. But the evidence is there\u2026 there\u2019s been enough players that have had to leave or have chosen to leave for bigger and better things and that\u2019s the tax you have to pay for success, and we have to pay it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleary said To\u2019o, who is now a father of two, was emotional when telling his coach and teammates of his decision to leave his junior club at the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a hard one for him to tell all his mates and even his family. He\u2019s had a fair bit on his plate lately and he probably feels a bit lighter now,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Brian To\u2019o with his parents. Photo: NRL Photos.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine Bizza playing in any other jersey but there\u2019s a few guys out there where I thought the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s part of the deal and we\u2019ve had a lot of success over the last seven years and what comes with that is that you can\u2019t keep everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking with Extra Time on Tuesday, fellow Panthers winger Thomas Jenkins, who recently re-signed with the club until the end of 2029, said he is proud of his mentor and teammate for putting his family first.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as it\u2019s emotional and it\u2019s sad to see him go, he\u2019s got a job to here this year and next year but I could probably speak for everyone here and say that we\u2019re just so stoked for him and his lovely family. They deserve what\u2019s to come and I\u2019m excited for him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Tom Jenkins chats to journalist Nathan Taylor. Photo: Melinda Jane.<\/p>\n

Jenkins said To\u2019o, who has scored 99 tries for the Panthers and counting, has been pivotal in his development at Penrith.<\/p>\n

\u201cBizza\u2019s been massive for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s someone I look up to and continue to look up to now and I learn so much from him and so much of my journey is a credit to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been massive for me, so influential. I love him!\u201d<\/p>\n

PNG Chiefs General Manager \u2013 Football Michael Chammas said securing a player of To\u2019o\u2019s calibre was another important step in building the club\u2019s inaugural squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian has performed at the highest level of rugby league for many years and knows exactly what is required to create and sustain a winning environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings competitiveness, consistency, and an enormous work ethic, but equally important for us is what he brings culturally. To secure a player of Brian\u2019s quality, character and cultural strength is a huge moment for the Chiefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nathan Taylor is the Weekender’s Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brian To’o. Photo: NRL Photos. Panthers coach Ivan Cleary says it\u2019s hard to imagine Brian To\u2019o wearing any…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-852338","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\/852338","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=852338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}