SEX-TAPE SCANDAL TURNED PANTHERS’ CULTURE

PENRITH supremo Brian Fletcher has blasted suggestions Panthers players are arrogant, saying the sex-tape scandal of 2019 was a seminal moment in fixing the club’s culture.

The Panthers have come under fire this season for their tryscoring antics with five-eighth Jarome Luai, in particular, attracting criticism for his exuberant celebrations.

But Fletcher said the players had been humble since the sex-tape saga put the club’s attitude under the microscope.

“From that day on, we went about a process of rebuilding and making sure that sort of culture was out of the place,” Fletcher said. “They are only young men, and young men do make mistakes. No one is perfect, but I’m proud of our culture today and how we have turned things around.”

Fletcher says the likes of Luai, Brian To’o, Stephen Crichton and Nathan Cleary are inspirational role models for the Penrith community.

“There are no egos or arrogance at all,” he said. “Who cares if a few of our players jump up and down when we score a try?”

Penrith boss Brian Fletcher has scoffed at suggestions that his players, like five-eighth Jarome Luai (above), are arrogant.