Mavrik Geyer is set to join Wests Tigers on a one-year deal after Penrith told the son of club legend Mark Geyer there was no position for him at the club beyond this season.
Geyer’s Panthers contract expires at the end of this year. The 24-year-old back-rower has played 13 games for the club since making his NRL debut last season but has been limited to just two games this year.
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Geyer informed Panthers teammates of his exit from the club at a team meeting on Wednesday afternoon and his decision to ink a one-year deal with the Tigers under coach Benji Marshall.
The edge forward is a handy pick-up for the Tigers, who have been looking to bolster their depth in the back row. Geyer will join Newcastle forward Kai Pearce Paul at the club in 2026.
It comes as the Tigers refuse to budge on their offer of a two-year, $350,000-per-season deal for the in-form Adam Doueihi, who is considering a more lucrative two-year offer on the table from the Dragons.
The Panthers are looking to upgrade and extend several players including Kangaroos prop Lindsay Smith, and have prioritised the retention of current regular NRL players over Geyer.
“We don’t ever want to lose a local junior, and Mav’s proven that he can play first grade and is a first-grade player,” Panthers general manager Shane Elford said.
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“It’s just unfortunate that we’ve had a really successful run and there’s just players that have won multiple grand finals that are ahead of him at this point in time. Now he’s got an opportunity to go to another club and play first grade and help develop his career.
“So as disappointed as we are that we’re losing a local junior and a player with the Geyer surname from our club, I’m actually excited for him to be able to play more first grade at a club that’s on the rise. While we’re disappointed we can’t keep them all, it’s actually a positive, I believe, because he gets to play first grade and more of it.”
Mark Geyer won a premiership with the Panthers in 1991. Like his son, he too left the club to join the Tigers for one season before linking up with the Western Reds in Perth.
Geyer has the opportunity to follow the same path with the Perth Bears coming into the competition in 2027.
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The Panthers said the decision to end ties with Geyer was difficult, but insisted he had a bright future in the NRL.
“It wasn’t an easy conversation,” Elford said. “We would want to keep everybody if it was possible, but you know the track record with the players that we’ve unfortunately had to lose for various reasons over the years. We just can’t keep them all. Their values are getting greater and greater every single year.
“Nobody wants to play reserve grade, with all due respect. They want to progress their own careers and the ability for Mav to do that at this club isn’t there at the moment.
“We came to the decision to let him go, and we genuinely believe it’s the best thing for his own career as well. It’s no disrespect because he’s an absolutely great kid.“
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