Excited Panthers plan to greet Maloney with open arms

PENRITH stars Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Josh Mansour have praised the imminent recruitment of James Maloney to the NRL club next season.

Maloney is all but certain to move to the Panthers in a reported $6 million player swap with disgruntled captain Matt Moylan, who will link with Cronulla. The two clubs are likely to confirm the switch as early as tomorrow, ending almost three months of speculation over the future of Maloney at the Sharks.

Penrith will be Maloney’s sixth team in the NRL premiership. Moylan’s time at the foot of the mountains has also been under intense scru- tiny since he was mysteriously given leave to address personal issues on the eve of this year’s NRL finals series.

It’s understood Maloney will receive $2.5 million over three years at Penrith, while Moylan will take up a fouryear deal in the Shire for $3.6 million. Campbell-Gillard believes the addition of Kangaroos teammate Maloney would be a huge boost in the development of teen sensation Nathan Cleary.

“I’ve always been a strong believer that Nathan needs a real dominant half there to help his game and take the pressure off him,” CampbellGillard said.

Mansour said Maloney’s experience would be invaluable to the club.

“He’s been to three grand finals, he’s won two,” he said.

“He’d be a good addition to the squad. Obviously Nathan was our main playmaker.

“To have another player like Jimmy will share the load around the team, release pressure off Nath.”