The Penrith Panthers have confirmed six players are leaving the club, with Liam Henry, Jack Cole and Scott Sorensen heading to the Perth Bears and Freddy Lussick joining the Bulldogs.
The departures were confirmed at Penrith’s end-of-season awards night on Tuesday 6 October, Zero Tackle reported. The Panthers’ season ended with a preliminary final loss to the Knights.
Three Panthers head west
The Perth Bears are the biggest winners. Cole has signed a three-year deal until the end of 2029, Henry has signed for four years until the end of 2030, and Sorensen has a two-year deal running to the end of 2028, according to Zero Tackle.
Henry and Sorensen are both premiership winners, giving Mal Meninga’s inaugural Bears squad some winning pedigree. Sorensen joined Penrith in 2021 and leaves after 126 games for the club, while Cole and Henry debuted together in 2022.
Lussick and McLean off to Belmore
Hooker Lussick has signed a two-year deal with Canterbury, the Bulldogs confirmed. The 26-year-old played 20 games for Penrith this season.
“We recognised that we needed more depth at hooker and Freddy fills that void perfectly,” Bulldogs general manager of football Phil Gould said.
Jesse McLean will also join the Bulldogs after being bought out of the final two years of his Penrith deal, Zero Tackle reported. Prop Toby Crosby is heading to Super League, signing with Sam Burgess’s Warrington Wolves for 2027.
Edwards takes top honour
On the same night, the Panthers announced that Dylan Edwards had won his second Merv Cartwright Medal as the club’s player of the year. Henry won the John Farragher Award for Courage and Determination, Tom Jenkins was named Members Player of the Year for the second year in a row, Billy Phillips was Rookie of the Year and Brian To’o took out Club Person of the Year and Try of the Year.
What comes next for Penrith
Penrith had not officially confirmed any signings for 2027, but Liam Le Blanc from South Sydney and Jett Cleary from the Warriors are expected to join, Zero Tackle reported. Tom Ale and Kalani Leuluai-Going remain off-contract, while Nathan Cleary is recovering from ankle surgery with the club eyeing an early-season return.
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