{"id":954032,"date":"2026-11-05T22:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T22:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/954032\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T22:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T22:46:13","slug":"panthers-handed-major-liam-martin-boost-as-rival-nrl-move-falls-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/954032\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers handed major Liam Martin boost as rival NRL move falls apart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liam Martin’s chances of remaining at the Penrith Panthers<\/a> have received a significant boost, with a potential move to the PNG Chiefs<\/a> appearing increasingly unlikely as the representative forward eyes a new deal at the foot of the mountains.<\/p>\n

Martin is currently on the open market, with multiple NRL<\/a> clubs understood to be interested in securing his signature, but his management has made it clear that Penrith remains the priority.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old had been linked with a potential move to the incoming PNG Chiefs<\/a>; however, that option could now be ruled out with the expansion club closing in on Canberra Raiders<\/a> second-rower Hudson Young<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"2025Liam Martin during Game 3 of the 2025 State of Origin match between the NSW Blues and the QLD Maroons. (Photo: Joshua Davis)<\/p>\n

Martin’s player agent Allan Gainey revealed that securing Young would likely end the Chiefs’ chances of adding another representative second-rower to their roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s unlikely PNG is an option if Hudson Young<\/a> goes there,\u201d Gainey told Code Sports.<\/p>\n

Instead, Martin’s preference is to remain at Penrith, with Gainey confirming he wants to give the powerhouse club every opportunity to secure his signature before exploring rival offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve had chats with Penrith and said, \u2018Let me know when you are ready. He will have other options if we want to pursue them, but I want to talk to the incumbent club first and last,\u201d Gainey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiam would like to stay at Penrith, but I know what we can get on the open market.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few clubs in Australia<\/a> are pretty keen, so it depends how much is left in the salary cap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BRISBANE,BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – MAY 04: Nathan Cleary of the Panthers celebrates after scoring a try during the round nine NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on May 04, 2025, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Panthers are understood to be preparing a two-year contract extension for Nathan Cleary<\/a>, which would provide greater certainty around their salary cap and allow the club to turn its attention towards other retention priorities.<\/p>\n

Martin is understood to be high on that list, with Penrith keen to keep another member of their premiership-winning core beyond the current season.<\/p>\n

With the Chiefs likely out of the equation and Martin’s preference firmly leaning towards remaining at the Panthers, the club appears well placed to keep the experienced forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liam Martin’s chances of remaining at the Penrith Panthers have received a significant boost, with a potential move…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":954033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-954032","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\/954032","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=954032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/954033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=954032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=954032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=954032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}