Penrith players insist they will be sad to see skipper Matt Moylan leave the Panthers, but have backed the decision of the club to lure James Maloney to the foot of the mountains as Nathan Cleary's halves partner.
Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Josh Mansour spoke about the club swap that is set to take place next week pending NRL approval, admitting they saw the positives in having the experienced Maloney calling the shots alongside Cleary.
"I've always been a strong believer that Nathan needs a real dominant half there as well to help his game," Campbell-Gillard said after his Test debut in the nation's capital on Friday night.
"It will probably take the pressure off him. We'll probably find out within a few days there what's going on. If we have 'Moyza' we'll stay there and build on that and if we get Jimmy, we'll obviously build a relationship there."
Mansour, who returned to Kangaroos camp on Thursday after being granted time off to attend the birth of his daughter on Wednesday, admitted he would be sad to see Moylan depart the club.
However he insists he isn't worried about the toll this ordeal has had on Moylan, confident he will manage to bounce back from it at a new club.
"Not really to be honest," Mansour said when asked if he noticed Moylan being weighed down by the saga.
"Obviously it's disappointing to hear the stuff coming out in the media about him but knowing Moyza he will bounce back from it. To be honest with you, I think he's not that down. I think he will be all right. Whatever happens, happens. Hopefully it resolves itself soon because I'm sick of hearing about it to be honest.
"I think I debuted roughly the same time as he did and I think we're the longest serving players at the club from 2012. Obviously being a Penrith junior and the skipper it will be sad to see him leave but at the end of the day you have to back whatever the club thinks is right. Obviously whatever direction the club goes for I just have to accept that."
Mansour has played alongside Maloney at both State of Origin and international level and is well aware of the qualities he brings to a football team.
"He's very experienced. He's been to two grand finals and won two so he will obviously be a good addition to the squad," Mansour said
"Hopefully Nathan was our main play maker, so to have another player like Jimmy will share the load around the team and obviously release some pressure off Nath.
"If that happens it will be a good addition to the team and bring a lot of experience and hopefully the young guys can learn a lot from him.
"We'll see what happens."
This article first appeared on NRL.com
