Penrith star rejects Super League move and claims he’s ‘too young’ for England switch
Penrith Panthers' Daine Laurie.
He is currently without a club for the 2026 season: but Penrith Panthers star Daine Laurie has insisted he is ‘too young’ to consider a move to Super League next year.
Laurie has been squeezed out at the four-time NRL champions after returning to the club at the start of the 2024 season. He has been in and out of the side throughout the last two years, serving as a backup for star fullback Dylan Edwards the majority of the time.
But there is currently no deal on the table for the former Tigers star, leading to inevitable speculation and questions about whether the 26-year-old could consider a move to England. He would undoubtedly be a sensational acquisition for any Super League side.
However, Laurie has emphatically shot those questions down with an emphatic response, claiming he is not at the right age to be even weighing up the possibility of leaving the NRL yet.
Laurie told AAP: “I don’t have a clue (what my future holds). I’m just going to take it day by day and hopefully something turns up in the background.
“I think I’m too young to go over there, I want to get to the 100-game mark and then maybe suss it out. I’m just coming in and taking it day by day, and if something pops up that’s the right thing for me and my missus, I’ll take it.”
Laurie instead insists he has developed enough both on and off the field to be a competent pick-up for an NRL side going into 2026 – admitting he still believes he has plenty to offer someone.
“I reckon I’ve matured as a person and I reckon my game has definitely gotten better since I left the Tigers,” he said. “It was a challenge for myself to go over there and try and test myself playing week in week out first grade.”
