Penrith Panthers utility and playmaker Jack Cole has confirmed he has been in discussions with rival clubs as a decision on his next contract looms.
Cole is off-contract at the end of this year, and while Penrith are still in the mix for his signature, it's understood the chances of the club retaining a player once thought as the natural answer to Jarome Luai's departure are narrowing.
Cole has struggled to kick on to his enormous potential at this stage of his career, although has spent time on the sidelines injured where he lost ground to Blaize Talagi, who signed across from the Parramatta Eels ahead of last year, while Penrith also added Jack Cogger to their ranks.
It means he could leave the club to either an NRL or English Super League rival, with talk around his next location being raised in recent weeks.
Speaking to the Western Weekender, Cole revealed he doesn't know what he is going to do yet, but wants to play first-grade.
“Obviously I'm off contract, so I'm not going to deny that I haven't been talking to people. I'm still not 100 per cent sure what I'm doing but I'm just trying to focus on my footy at the moment and that's the thing that's going to hep me land somewhere and get a contract,” Cole told the publication.
“Our Cup team, as well as the NRL team, is going well this year. The more we can just do our roles for the team and play well, the more noticed our team's going to get.”
Cole has managed just a single game of first-grade so far this year, it coming as Penrith rested players through the Origin period.
The five-eighth can also play in the centres, and has been a regular at NSW Cup level in recent seasons.
He admitted the failure to play more NRL games has been frustrating, and with Penrith sitting at the top of the ladder, despite some minor form blips in recent weeks, it appears the chance of Blaize Talagi being dropped in the run to the finals is slim.
Cole said his game in first-grade was something he was grateful for, and confirmed he wants to play five-eighth.
“I was pretty stoked to get that opportunity, to be honest,” Cole said.
“I was grateful Ivan put his trust in me to jump into six after having a bit of time out.
“That's where I feel like I belong to be honest. That's what everyone here wants to do.”
The Orange junior is now 23 and will look to take his career to the next level before it stagnates, although it's unclear exactly which teams are in the mix for his services.
All up, he has played 18 NRL games since debuting in Round 25 of the 2022 season against the North Queensland Cowboys as Penrith played essentially their entire NSW Cup side to rest key figures ahead of the finals series that year.
