Panthers fans have expressed their surprise after the club reportedly granted young gun Jake Attard an immediate release from his contract. The 18-year-old was once touted as Dylan Edwards’ long-term successor at fullback, and played for the Australian Schoolboys in 2024.
Attard was under contract with the Panthers until the end of 2027, but the club has apparently granted him an immediate release. According to Zero Tackle, he’s been linked with a switch to the Wests Tigers and could be an option to replace Jahream Bula.
Attard was elevated to train with the Panthers’ first-grade squad at the start of 2025 in the pre-season. He was set to play in NRL trial games for Penrith, before a back injury ruled him out.
The 18-year-old has performed strongly at every level of the lower grades, and looked destined for first-grade opportunities at Penrith. In two games at NSW Cup level this year (just under NRL), he scored two tries and averaged 123 metres.
But Zero Tackle is citing “multiple sources” that he’s departed the Panthers two years early. He previously told the publication: “I did a four-week program (with the NRL squad) before Christmas and it was a good experience. It was good to get around all those boys. (Nathan) Cleary was really good with all the young boys, so it was really good to be around all of them.
“I grew up going for Panthers my whole life so it’s good to put on the jersey and run out here with the boys. Being with Penrith for a long time as well and going to all their games and watching them run out of the sheds, it’d be a dream to run out there one day in the NRL.”
Panthers sign two other young fullbacks
The writing was seemingly on the wall when the Panthers signed two young fullbacks last week – Karauria Stokes-Mauahara from the Melbourne Storm and Kaea Cribb from the Burleigh Bears. New Zealand-born Stokes-Mauahara is very highly rated, and might have leap-frogged Attard in the pecking order.
However it remains to be seen whether the two signings came in response to Attard leaving. Penrith-based journalist Peter Lang wrote on social media last week: “The club has lost a lot of players in the lower grades to other clubs so they’re re-stocking so to speak. First time they’ve recruited so many lower grade players from other clubs.”
The Panthers opted not to re-sign back-up fullback Daine Laurie for 2026, and he’s since signed a three-year deal with Canberra.
Could Wests Tigers pounce on Jake Attard?
With Dylan Edwards still only 29, Attard might not have seen much of a future at the Panthers. But in Bula, the Wests Tigers’ fullback situation is a lot murkier.
The 23-year-old is only under contract until the end of 2026, although there’s a ‘mutual’ option in his deal for 2027. It means he’ll remain at the Tigers if both he and the club agree.
But reports have emerged that he isn’t too happy at the club, and there’s concerns they might not want to keep him either. “I think Jahream Bula could depart the club,” said leading journo Michael Chammas recently. “I don’t think there’s an appetite from the Wests Tigers to activate his trigger at $800,000.
“I don’t think he’s worth that … His agent is seeking expressions from rival clubs, his agent being Isaac Moses. The way it works is if Jahream wants to stay at the Tigers, it’ll cost them $900,000, but if he’s not doing that well, he’s got a safety net and the Tigers can pick him up at $800,000.”
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