Penrith Panthers has granted Zac Hosking an immediate release from the club to pursue an opportunity at another NRL club for the 2024 season.
Hosking joined the Panthers at the start of the 2023 season and went on to play 21 NRL games in the premiership-winning season.
“After coming to the Panthers and being an integral member of the 2023 squad, we always knew keeping Zac at the club beyond 2024 would always be an uphill battle,” Panthers Rugby League CEO Matt Cameron said.
Making this decision now gives the club the opportunity to promote from within our full time squad.
“We thank Zac for his service to our club and wish him the best of luck with his future endeavours.”
One of the things we always talk about is trying to target the right ones.
“(Recruitment manager) Jimmy Jones hasn’t been to New Zealand in five years. We don’t actively go and recruit into our junior system from outside anymore.
“We love our own backyard, and our recruitment is in that western corridor.
“Then we supplement it in the NRL squad.”
Penrith’s roster management — from teenage pathways to the NRL squad — is at the same time simple and complex.
Decisions on who the club must fight to keep and who they can afford to lose are based on players’ projected progress years in advance.
If Penrith know they have a junior rising through the system who will soon be a star, careful planning determines how they can be blooded and retained.
In the past three years, Penrith have lost enough junior talent to big-money offers from other clubs to arguably form another top-eight side.
