Penrith have issued the strongest statement yet that gun backrower Viliame Kikau will remain at the club for the foreseeable future.
Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher appeared on Sky Sports Radio’s The Big Sports Breakfast this morning and said the Fijian international was the last piece of the puzzle for next year.
“The only big-name left for us to sign for the future is Viliame Kikau,” he said.
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“We’re very confident that we will be able to come to an agreement with his management and have him on the roster for another three or four years as well.
“Every indication is that he’ll be staying.”
Kikau’s future had been up the air with Penrith boasting one of the strongest rosters in the competition, and the 26-year-old likely to command massive money as one of the standout performers in his position.
Fletcher said there was a big chance that Kikau would take less money to remain at a successful club, with Penrith finishing second on the ladder and one game away from a second consecutive grand final appearance.
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“A lot of players like to take a little bit of a discount to play with a side that’s going well, so I think he comes under that category,” he said.
“He’s been there ever since he was a young player and he has got a home out in Penrith, and he’s very good friends with all the Polynesian boys.”
Fletcher also said assistant coach Cameron Ciraldo, who remains one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the sport, would be sticking around.
“Cameron comes up every time there’s a vacancy or there looks like being a vacancy … I feel very confident he’ll stay next year.
“He’s only a young man, I don’t think he’ll be rushing into a job that’s got any risk with it. The future’s in his hands, if he’s patient he can stay and there might be a better job come up.”
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