Penrith Panthers youngster Blaize Talagi's future at the club has been thrown into further doubt, with rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns admitting he is unsure whether the five-eighth has a long-term future at Penrith.
Talagi was the Panthers' first-choice five-eighth for much of the 2026 season but has fallen down the pecking order in recent weeks, with Jack Cogger establishing himself as Ivan Cleary's preferred option in the number six jersey.
The 21-year-old has not started at five-eighth since Round 21, while Cleary has also turned to Jack Cole when Cogger has been unavailable.
Talagi's only appearance since Round 21 came in Penrith's Round 24 nail-biting loss to the Sydney Roosters, where he was introduced from the bench for the final 15 minutes.
The decision to leave Talagi out of the side was raised by former football star Ruan Sims on Immortal Behaviour, with Johns asked to speculate on why the talented youngster had been pushed out despite possessing plenty of attacking ability.
“If you were to speculate why, do you think Blaize Talagi is not being used because he does have great attacking spark,” Sims asked.
“Once again it's the 70%, 65% putting into defence,” Johns answered.
“Ivan is backing his defence. Now, Blaize earlier in the year, when Canterbury put a score on them, Jacob Preston terrorised Blaize and also Casey Mclean and that gap between them.
“I have sort of felt that since then his confidence has been knocked around, and also he has been targeted defensively, and if you show any weaknesses, teams just sit on it.
“It's an area in his game that he has to go to improve, Blaize. Ivan's got a mentality of defence. Jack Cole is a really good defender, and Jack Cogger will come back in sometime in the semis; I can't see Blaize getting a start.
“He's on the extended bench, so unless they want to get points late, they brought him on late against the Chooks, and he looked a bit all at sea and threw an intercept.”
The comments paint a concerning picture for Talagi, who has gone from being entrusted with the Panthers' number 6 jersey to seemingly being on the outer as the club prepares for a finals campaign.
Johns also questioned whether Talagi's long-term future could remain at Penrith given the competition for positions in the Panthers' spine.
“Moving forward, I don't know if he has got a future there at Penrith," Johns stated.
“Jett Cleary is coming back and then Jack Cole and Jack Cogger, plenty to see and a big off-season for Blaize.”
Talagi remains contracted to Penrith through the end of the 2027 season, but he will be able to negotiate with rival clubs from November 1 this year if the Panthers do not secure his future before then.
With consistent first-grade football likely to be a priority for the highly-rated youngster, the coming season could prove crucial in determining whether Talagi remains at Penrith or ultimately looks elsewhere for an opportunity in the spine.
For now, however, the Panthers appear to have plenty of options ahead of him, with Cogger, Cole and the returning Jett Cleary all set to factor into the coaches plans.
