Sep 17th, 2018

Sep 17th, 2018

Star halfback Nathan Cleary is set to extend his stay in Penrith by re-signing with the club, according to Panthers General Manager Phil Gould.

Speaking on 100% Footy, Gould confirmed Cleary's intentions to re-sign with the club where he has played 58 career games, saying that a deal will be done "shortly".

To watch Phil Gould reveal the full Cleary story and much more, tune into 100% Footy tonight at 10.45pm on Nine

Cleary had originally set a November 1 date to discuss his contract with Penrith beyond the 2019 season, but appears to have sorted out his future soon after the Panthers were bundled out of the 2018 finals series.

Speculation about the 20-year-old's playing future reached fever-pitch during the 2018 season, following the dismissal of head coach Anthony Griffin, and Cleary's well-publicised desire to play under his father Ivan.

(AAP) Gould confirmed Cleary's intentions to re-sign with the Penrith Panthers beyond the 2019 season

Following the Panthers' exit, Cleary mentioned that he did not want to mull about his future for too long.

"I don't want to drag it out," Cleary told News Corp on Sunday.

"I’ll have a couple of good days with the boys and do reviews and after that I’ll get down to talks and sort it out as quickly as possible.

"With that comes all the speculation and there is a lot of rubbish.

"If we can get it done as quickly as possible, I’ll be happy with that."

(AAP) Speculation has been rife over whether the Panthers will lure Cleary's father Ivan away from the Wests Tigers

With Cleary's future secure in Penrith, the focus will now shift to the Panthers' permanent coaching position and whether the Panthers are able to lure Cleary's father Ivan back to Penrith.

However, Gould and Cleary have both thrown their support behind caretaker coach Cameron Ciraldo following the Panthers' semi-final defeat.

"I think everyone respects him and really likes him as a coach,"Cleary told News Corp.

"In the last three weeks we’ve shown a lot of improvement and it is a credit to him.

"I’ve always loved playing under Siro. He has kind of turned me into the player I am today."