Aug 20th, 2018

Aug 20th, 2018

The Panthers may be without their most dynamic forward Viliame Kikau for this weekend’s trip to New Zealand - because of government red tape.

In a major blow to the Panthers’ hopes of beating the Warriors on Friday night, Kikau is still a citizen of his homeland, Fiji, but applying for Australia residency.

He is close to being granted the residency status - but the Australian Department of Immigration won’t let him leave the country until it becomes official.

If he does leave the country - even to New Zealand for 48 hours - he won’t be allowed back into Australia and his application will be deemed void.

Penrith officials have been working with the government to find a solution - but time is running out.

At this stage, it appears Kikau - one of the most exciting young forwards in the NRL - will be sitting watching his team-mates in action on TV in the lounge room of his Penrith apartment.

Phil Gould reveals what Trent Barrett’s Manly exit could mean for the Panthers and digs into the dramas between Wayne Bennett and the Broncos as well as all the other coaching drama. Another not to be missed episode of the Six Tackles With Gus podcast below!