Jul 9th, 2018

Jul 9th, 2018

The player who replaced Matt Moylan in last year's run to the finals hopes the former Penrith captain won't be booed on his return to Panthers Stadium on Friday.

Moylan will make his first visit to the foot of the mountains since a controversial shift to Cronulla in the summer that resulted in a player-swap for James Maloney.

Moylan had been given indefinite leave by the Panthers in August last year to deal with "personal issues", but it was widely believed he had fallen out with the club.

He was replaced by young playmaker Tyrone May, who stepped in at five-eighth before tearing his ACL in the Panthers' semi-final loss to Brisbane.

May only just made a successful return to the NRL in the absence of State of Origin stars Nathan Cleary and Maloney in last week's romp over the Warriors.

And he is likely to be in the halves again as the Panthers look to rest their NSW stars.

May insisted there is no animosity from the current playing group and hoped the home crowd would feel the same when they meet the Sharks on Friday.

"Everyone's still pretty good mates with him. There's no real spite from us and I hope the fans will give him a welcome home," May told AAP.

"I don't want to see any spitefulness towards him because it wasn't a bad thing that happened. It worked out well for both parties."

May admitted he was initially surprised Moylan had been released by the club, given the local junior was one year into a four-year extension of his contract.

But he hailed the impact Maloney has had on their campaign this year, with the Panthers currently fourth and in prime position to challenge for the title.

"It shocked a few boys but as a group, we've moved on from it now," May said.

"Jimmy's added nothing but character and experience, he's steered the ship a lot. He's brought that old head, and is a big-game player."

However the Panthers' chances of building a four-point gap on the sixth-placed Sharks have taken a hit following a hamstring injury to fullback Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

©AAP2018