All of the attention around the Penrith Panthers might be related to their off-contract stars at the end of 2027, but they have made another move for the season ahead first, locking up Tom Ale and Kalani Going.
The duo both joined the Panthers for 2026 from the New Zealand Warriors and were on the fringe of Penrith's first-grade side as they went to a preliminary final, but couldn't bridge the gap to what would have been their sixth grand final in seven years.
The New Zealand duo were both a big part of the NSW Cup charge, with the Panthers winning that competition.
Going made his debut in Round 1 of the season and became captain of the NSW Cup side, playing a handful of games in the top grade.
Ale, who had played 41 games with the Warriors prior to his arrival at the Panthers, surprisingly failed to get on the field in the top grade with the Panthers, having had the same issue in his final year at the Auckland-based outfit.
Instead, the powerful forward played 20 games in the NSW Cup, scoring six tries.
“We're delighted to have Kalani and Tom locked in at Panthers,” Penrith general manager of rugby league Shane Elford said of the double re-signing.
“Both have brought leadership, experience and quality to the club, and we look forward to their contributions in 2027.”
The duo could feature more prominently throughout the 2027 campaign given the departures of Scott Sorensen and Liam Henry to the Perth Bears.
Henry was a mainstay of the middle third for the Panthers, regularly starting as soon as they had any injury issues, while Sorensen split his time between the edge and the middle coming off the interchange bench.
