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foxsports.com.au looks at the three contenders to replace Luai in 2025 should he sign with the Tigers along with the potential targets Penrith could look at on the open market.
BRAD SCHNEIDER
They did it with Sean O’Sullivan and then with Jack Cogger. Have the Panthers done it again?
Maybe — and what makes the signing of former Raiders playmaker Brad Schneider even more exciting is the fact he is only 22 years old.
In other words, if Schneider makes the most of his opportunity at Penrith in the next two years it could very well be a long stay for the Hull KR halfback.
Schneider is one of many NRL players to make the switch to the Super League, although the fact he did it so young speaks volumes to how locked in he was on what he needed at that point of his career.
In Schneider’s case, it was a chance to not just develop his game but also his leadership in a more prominent role.
So, within a week of receiving a call from his manager he was on the plane to England.
“It’s probably one of the best things I’ve done,” the young playmaker, who only played one NRL game for the Raiders last season,
told NCA Newswire.
“I definitely recommend it to other players, especially as a halfback and how young I was, to go straight in the team and be a leader helped grow my confidence massively.
“I think my leadership changed more than anything.
“I was straight into a team that needed a halfback, but there were two ways I could have gone about it.
“I could have been really quiet and just been there for the ride, but I said to myself that I’m here to do a job, so I took the opportunity with both hands.”
Schneider did just that from the outset, kicking the game-winning field goal in his debut for Hull KR and returns to the NRL with the kind of experience he simply would not have got playing in reserve grade for Canberra.
Of course, there is every chance Schneider could find himself back in the NSW Cup for the Panthers too but he has the versatility to push for a bench utility role right away.
Otherwise, both O’Sullivan and Cogger were quickly thrown into starting roles in the past two seasons and Schneider’s time playing in the Super League has him well prepared should injury strike again.
“The last two halfbacks that have been here have gone on to have success at other clubs,” Schneider said.
“And that’s down to the Panthers because their development here was great so they grew as players. That’s why I’m really keen to be here so I can learn from people like Nathan Cleary.
“I’m always shooting for the top 17, but at the moment I’m just really keen to learn from these guys and their system.
“That’s one of the things you’ve got to be open-minded to – playing anywhere in this team – and that’s something I’m more than happy to do.”
Penrith’s three-way battle to replace Luai... and the free agents they could target
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