Penrith coach Anthony Griffin has allayed concerns Tyrone Peachey could be headed to Gold Coast, declaring the versatile star is key to the Panthers’ upcoming NRL season.
Peachey has recently been linked with a move to the Titans despite having a further two years left on an extension announced back in 2016.
The 26-year-old’s management is reported to have already initiated talks with the Titans, who will this year be coached by former Panthers assistant mentor Garth Brennan.
Brennan this week denied the club had held talks with Peachey, citing contract rules that prevent clubs from negotiating with players who have more than one year left on their deal.
Griffin on Tuesday also denied any knowledge of discussions involving Peachey’s possible exit, and is adamant the former Cronulla player is critical to Penrith’s 2018 aspirations.
“He’s been great for us the last couple of years. I haven’t heard anything about (a release) though,” Griffin told AAP.
Peachey is widely considered one of the league’s most versatile players despite starting 17 of his 25 appearances for the Panthers in the centres last year.
However with the expected return of Waqa Blake from a shoulder reconstruction, as well as the presence of Kiwi international Dean Whare, Peachey could revert to the No.14 jumper.
Griffin insisted pre-season matches would dictate who would begin on the flanks, with fixtures against the Sydney Roosters and Canterbury before the season proper.
“At different stages last year they were all injured and we had none (of them). It goes on trial form,” Griffin said.
The Panthers will up their preparations for the season when they begin a three-day camp in Port Macquarie on Wednesday.
Griffin admitted the playing group had spent a chunk of their summer focusing on a quicker start to the campaign, having won just two of their opening nine games last season.
The Panthers also won just five of their opening 12 matches in 2016, when they again relied on a late flurry of wins to clinch a spot in the finals.
“Because we’ve been together for a while now, we’ve been able to progress and work a bit harder on our football side of things,” Griffin said.
“There hasn’t been a primary focus other than that we need to get our start to the season a bit better than the last couple of years.”