Storm legend praises Panthers captain Isaah Yeo ahead of Grand Final

Patrick Brischetto

Storm legend praises Panthers captain Isaah Yeo ahead of Grand Final image

Isaah Yeo has become a legend of the Penrith Panthers.

Since making his debut in 2014 at the foot of the mountains, he has become one of the best locks in the game, won three premierships and represented his state and country.

He also broke the appearance record for the Panthers last week when he made his 244th appearance for the club.

On the eve of his fifth Grand Final against the Melbourne Storm, he has now earned praise from a Storm legend.

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Smith praises Yeo as Grand Final gamebreaker

Former Storm premiership captain Cameron Smith has praised Isaah Yeo, and thinks he could be a gamebreaker when the Panthers go up against the Storm in the Grand Final.

Speaking on SEN's The Captain's Run, Smith discussed the impact of Yeo and fullback Dylan Edwards.

"The reason why they're so good those two guys, like Edwards and Yeo, is that they are relentless in the way they play the game," Smith said.

"They are just at you all match with their running... very rarely, if ever, do you see them get the ball and they don't know what they're doing with it. There's always a plan, there's always intent in what they're doing, and they're just constantly at you, making you make defensive decisions."

He also elaborated on how the presence of Yeo in the attack allowed Penrith's creative players more time and space to weave their magic on the game.

"The reason that makes Yeo so good is that he's got the ability to run the football himself," Smith said.

"He's got the ability to play short with his other forwards, but also playing hat that link man for [Nathan] Cleary and [Jarome] Luai, he takes so much pressure off those guys.

"He attracts multiple defenders around him to then release time and space onto Luai and Cleary to do their thing.

"And if you give those two guys time and space, particularly Cleary, inevitably, he's going to make the right decision nine times out of 10."

Patrick Brischetto

Patrick Brischetto Photo

Patrick is a journalist currently based in Sydney who covered the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Women's World Cup for The Sporting News. He also holds a position at the Western Sydney Wanderers FC, and is slowly attempting to convince the world that the A-League is the greatest sporting competition.