The Penrith Panthers are looking towards a bright future, re-signing the club's Harold Matthews Cup skipper, Ryan Cloey, on a three-year deal.
The talented hooker has been earmarked as the long-term nine for the powerful Western Sydney Club, with Fox Sports reporting he has put pen to paper to keep him in the foot of the mountains.
With explosiveness around the ruck and speed in his arsenal, Cloey will continue to develop his game as he progresses through the Panthers pathways.
The ink was barely dry when the club secured another highly touted rookie in Cordell Arama before moving to locking up Cloey as a succession plan to Mitch Kenny.
Arama has signed on until 2029 and is building towards becoming an enforcer of the future for the Panthers side as he progresses through the junior ranks.
The Harold Matts' prop was also fielding offers from rugby union, but opted to remain in the 13-man code.
Cloey is still attending high school at St Dominic's College in Penrith, but will join the NRL squad in future years as he develops through to SG Ball and Jersey Flegg.
The Panthers' elite pathways engine has a strong reputation for pumping out quality juniors from their strong nursery in Western Sydney.
It has seen the likes of pathways stars such as Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary, Stephen Crichton, Brian To'o, and many others progress to contribute to the Panthers dynasty during the 2020s.
Mitch Kenny is only 28, and it seems premature to be talking about locking up a replacement for him. Apart from which, it’s hard (for me) to see Mr Cloey being satisfied on an NSW Cup level of contract for the next four or five seasons.