Penrith NRL captain Matt Moylan has been given indefinite leave from the game to deal with personal issues as his club prepares for an elimination final on Saturday.
However, after meeting with Moylan and his manager on Monday, the club confirmed the star five-eighth would remain at the club long-term.
“As a result of this meeting we can confirm Matt is 100 per cent committed to his future at the Panthers and we are 100 per cent committed to Matt,” club boss Phil Gould said.
Moylan’s future was in doubt following reports he was unsettled, while the club was unhappy with his attitude towards overcoming a hamstring injury.
Rival NRL clubs were believed to be circling the former NSW representative.
“We held a long discussion with Matt and his manager this morning,” Gould said.
“We see Matt as a valuable asset to our club and hope he has a long and successful future as a Panther.
“In the short term we are giving Matt some time away from the game to deal with some personal issues and we hope that people will respect his privacy.
“It’s disappointing that this has made its way to the media and from this point on there will be no further comment from the club, Matt or his management.
“We look forward to seeing Matt re-join the group as soon as possible.”
Stand-in captain Peter Wallace insisted the Panthers could overcome the Moylan saga which threatens to derail their finals campaign, beginning against Manly on Saturday.
“There’s never a good time but it just so happens to be now,” Wallace said earlier on Monday at the NRL finals launch.
“It’s not a distraction for us. I know the whole team’s excited about playing this week and they’re not going to let anything distract us. It’s got nothing to do with us.
“Matt and the club will sort that out and then move forward.”
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