Penrith Panthers land Paul Momirovski in swap deal with Wests Tigers

[Family Guy]

The Tigers and Panthers have completed a player swap.Source: Supplied

EXCLUSIVE – Penrith coach Ivan Cleary is set to bolster his backline by adding Wests Tigers centre Paul Momirovski to his squad with young Panthers fullback Daine Laurie going the other way.

Foxsports.com.au understands that Momirovski will join the Panthers on a two-year deal later today which will see Laurie move to the Tigers a year ahead of schedule.

The centre, who was strongly linked to Canterbury, was part of the Harry Grant loan swap between the Tigers and the Storm.
He played six games and scored four tries for Melbourne in 2020 before a hand injury saw him lose his place in the side and miss out on a spot in the grand final.

The 24-year-old, who has 14 tries in 19 NRL games, had been training at five-eighth during the pre-season and requested two releases after being told by coach Michael Maguire he was behind Joey Leilua and James Roberts in the pecking order at Concord.

He will now go head to head with Brent Naden and Tyrone May for Penrith’s right centre spot and also provides handy goalkicking depth should Cleary’s son, Nathan, go down with injury.

Laurie, meanwhile, joins the Tigers a year early after he agreed he would leave Penrith for Concord in 2022.
The fullback or five-eighth has played just three NRL games, but is a highly-rated prospect and will now be at the club for the next three seasons.
The Tigers and Panthers meet for the first time in 2021 in Round 13 at Leichhardt Oval.

 

[Family Guy]

Damn it the Tigers got their swap deal with Penrith.

I guess the good news is Penrith are willing to do swap deals....c'mon ya c****s, take Lewis and give us Burton. Star for star...it's a fair deal

 

[ChimpNugget]

I’ll say what’s on all our minds. Momo takes right centre leaving no spot for Matt Burton meaning he’s out the door.

 

[dekepefc]

Does that swap make the tigers anymore dangerous when Penrith face them? I'm not so sure... where as you'd expect us to be significantly strengthened with Burton in the team.. Just a thought, but hopefully this is a good sign that they're at least willing to have these types of discussions.

 

[Family Guy]

I’ll say what’s on all our minds. Momo takes right centre leaving no spot for Matt Burton meaning he’s out the door.

They already had Naden there anyway so now Burton is even less likely to play FG next year. You'd have to think if the player swap is with Napa that he'd like to go to Penrith and try and win a comp. Hopefully we've already told Napa he won't be here next year

 

[ChimpNugget]

They already had Naden there anyway so now Burton is even less likely to play FG next year. You'd have to think if the player swap is with Napa that he'd like to go to Penrith and try and win a comp. Hopefully we've already told Napa he won't be here next year

Yeah if the Napa thing is true, send him on his way. They need middle forwards. With Naden, now Momo and Salmon if they both go down plus May as the bench utility. Where does Burton play? This can only be a good sign for us.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Yeah if the Napa thing is true, send him on his way. They need middle forwards. With Naden, now Momo and Salmon if they both go down plus May as the bench utility. Where does Burton play? This can only be a good sign for us.

We need middle forwards.

 

[Spoonman84]

We need middle forwards.

What do you mean? We will be sweet with only one established prop won't we?

 

[B-Train]

I know Laurie was more surplus to requirements for Penrith than Burton is and isn'tas talented as Burton, but at least this proves they're open to swap deals. So hopefully one can still be worked out with Burton somehow. In hindsight shopping Reimis to Penrith instead of Melbourne might have sealed the deal for this season.

 

[B-Train]

What do you mean? We will be sweet with only one established prop won't we?

Napa is an established prop in terms of experience and games played, but he's an established average prop that adds very little to the team and makes minimal metres per hitup with slow play the balls. Not to mention jersey grabbing defense and dumb penalties.

I agree that we're not overly strong in the middle and lack depth but I just don't think there's a drop off in production from Napa to Renouf, Stimson, Ogden, Doorey or even RFM as a prop short term while Thompson is out. Elliott and Jackson can also play more minutes in the middle as Baz would want more mobility.

Regardless of whether Napa is moved on this season or next, we need another prop or two, that's for sure. But I think Napa is part of that problem and not a solution short term or long term.

 

[Family Guy]

Napa is an established prop in terms of experience and games played, but he's an established average prop that adds very little to the team and makes minimal metres per hitup with slow play the balls. Not to mention jersey grabbing defense and dumb penalties.

I agree that we're not overly strong in the middle and lack depth but I just don't think there's a drop off in production from Napa to Renouf, Stimson, Ogden, Doorey or even RFM as a prop short term while Thompson is out. Elliott and Jackson can also play more minutes in the middle as Baz would want more mobility.

Regardless of whether Napa is moved on this season or next, we need another prop or two, that's for sure. But I think Napa is part of that problem and not a solution short term or long term.

Absolutely right. We do need more GOOD props but I don't get the argument that Napa is so central to our success that we would crumble without him. Replace him with any CC forward and you'll hardly notice the difference. What is the point of having a prop with "experience" if your output and impact on the team is garbage. I could understand the argument if we were referring to a gun prop but Napa.....please. He is arguably the worst signing we've made in the last decade....and that shameful list includes SheRex and Lichaa FFS

Anyway Baz knows what the hell he's doing so he'll sort it out although it now looks very likely we'll get Burton this year

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Absolutely right. We do need more GOOD props but I don't get the argument that Napa is so central to our success that we would crumble without him. Replace him with any CC forward and you'll hardly notice the difference. What is the point of having a prop with "experience" if your output and impact on the team is garbage. I could understand the argument if we were referring to a gun prop but Napa.....please. He is arguably the worst signing we've made in the last decade....and that shameful list includes SheRex and Lichaa FFS

Anyway Baz knows what the hell he's doing so he'll sort it out although it now looks very likely we'll get Burton this year

He is a terrible signing but his miles ahead of players like Ogden who will have to play with Napa gone.

 

[D0GMATIC]

Damn it the Tigers got their swap deal with Penrith.

I guess the good news is Penrith are willing to do swap deals....c'mon ya c****s, take Lewis and give us Burton. Star for star...it's a fair deal

It’s gonna suck a whole lot more if Mansour has a great year, we could have had Burton and Mansour in blue and white this year .....

 

[Family Guy]

He is a terrible signing but his miles ahead of players like Ogden who will have to play with Napa gone.

Hopefully Ogden can lift his game as I think he has it in him. He just needs to be fit
I dont want to trade Napa...I'd rather we give them Lewis but we wont get that lucky

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Hopefully Ogden can lift his game as I think he has it in him. He just needs to be fit
I dont want to trade Napa...I'd rather we give them Lewis but we wont get that lucky

He needs to be a lot of things that unfortunately he will never be. We aren't getting Burton at this stage and people need to accept it and move on.

 

[B-Train]

He is a terrible signing but his miles ahead of players like Ogden who will have to play with Napa gone.

He's not miles ahead with the ball! Ogden is miles ahead in that department. But defensively Ogden struggles massively and even though Napa is an average defender also, he's much more reliable defensively.

It all depends on how much or little improvement guys like Hetherington, Renouf, Ogden, Stimson and Doorey have shown compared to last year. Or how Napa has looked in the offseason and how desperate Baz is to get rid of him.. Time will tell.

 

[B-Train]

He needs to be a lot of things that unfortunately he will never be. We aren't getting Burton at this stage and people need to accept it and move on.

That's probably most likely and I'm resigned to getting him next year. I don't believe Penrith would want Napa unless he's basically free.

 

[Spoonman84]

Napa is an established prop in terms of experience and games played, but he's an established average prop that adds very little to the team and makes minimal metres per hitup with slow play the balls. Not to mention jersey grabbing defense and dumb penalties.

I agree that we're not overly strong in the middle and lack depth but I just don't think there's a drop off in production from Napa to Renouf, Stimson, Ogden, Doorey or even RFM as a prop short term while Thompson is out. Elliott and Jackson can also play more minutes in the middle as Baz would want more mobility.

Regardless of whether Napa is moved on this season or next, we need another prop or two, that's for sure. But I think Napa is part of that problem and not a solution short term or long term.

We are making a already weak position for us even weaker by losing another prop though. Like it or not but Napa is an experienced player and second behind Thompson in our depth chart there. You take him out and we are left with Thompson, Atoni, Hetherington and Ogden plus a few make shift props in Britt and possibly Stimson even at full strength (with Napa) I can see them only being able to contain the opposition front row and I certainly can't see them getting over them.

The best case scenario is Thompson leads and Atoni, Hetherington and Ogden step up but we are banking on nothing going wrong and they are all in form for a full season which is highly unlikely to happen. You have injuries, Hetherington's judiciary record plus Atoni and Ogden's fitness and inconsistent form could all come to bite us and then what are we left with? Napa is just another layer saving us from the worst case scenario and gives us depth at the very least.

Even if that prop isn't Napa we defiantly need another one in there to replace him for this year if he goes and it has to be an established one. We can't bank on a another rookie or journeyman coming good IMO. Will that be possible given what's available on the market and what shape our cap is in after getting Burton and paying freight on Napa?

 

[Heckler]

Cleary is Clearly sticking it.

 

[Cosmo24]

No doubt Burton is a class or two above Laurie, but if they’re holding on to Burton in case Cleary and Luai gets an injury or for during origin, what’s to say he will play to the level he can when his current employer is preventing him from earning a lot more money and gaining more first grade experience.

He has got his future sorted and I’m sure he’s not a sook like some of our ex-players, but I just can’t see him wanting to perform for a club that’s holding him back, despite Cleary senior saying it’s in his best interest to stay