"Really happy": Why Kenny decided to re-sign with Penrith

Having committed his future to Penrith, Mitch Kenny has explained his decision to remain a Panther.

Despite not playing since Round 7 after sustaining a fractured fibula coupled with a syndesmosis injury, the hooker signed a four-year extension, taking his current deal to 2031.

While the 28-year-old did look at other options, he is glad to be re-signing with the Panthers.

“My preference is always to stay,” Kenny explained on SEN’s Kick Off.

“But you don't always get what you want in life or in footy, so I thought I would've been silly if I probably didn't consider what my other options were.

“But thankfully, Penrith were keen, and we're able to get a deal done.

“So, I'm really happy with that and looking forward to extending my time out here.”

While Kenny’s future is secure, there are plenty of players within Penrith’s set-up that are considering their future.

Currently, nine players are coming out of contract in 2027 including the likes of Brian To’o, Moses Leota, Isaah Yeo, Isaiah Papali’I and Nathan Cleary to name a few.

And with coach Ivan Cleary set to leave at the end of next season, 2027 is shaping up to be one last hurrah for Penrith’s core players, which won four premierships in a row before a salary cap crunch.

Despite Kenny being hopeful of the club being able to retain all these stars beyond next season, he admits that it is unlikely for that to happen.

“It's obvious that we're going to feel the pinch of the salary cap and we have for a number of years, and now we're in this pretty unique situation where we have so many key guys coming off at the same time," he said.

“You'd imagine that it'd be hard for everyone to stay together.

“I think we'd all like to, but being realistic, probably don't know if that's going to happen, and each one of us would never begrudge the other for doing what's best for them and their family.

“If there's a way that we can all stay together. I think everyone wants to do that.

"But the business nature of rugby league is probably just not going to allow for that.

“So, it'll be sad to see anyone move on, but you always know that they're going and taking an opportunity elsewhere, which is either better for them, or financially, it’s a bit of a boost.”

For the second week in a row, the Panthers are playing on Thursday night at CommBank Stadium.

This time they find themselves up against the Eels with kick-off taking place at 7:50pm AEST.

SEN League will have live coverage of the game from 6pm across our radio network and on the SEN app with NRL Countdown.