Tyrone Peachey admits he was days away from Super League switch with door left open

Peachey signed an extension to his contract with Penrith Panthers last July, agreeing to stay with the NRL champions for the upcoming 2024 season.

But, after speaking with Catalans Dragons head coach Steve McNamara, the 32-year-old was almost tempted to make the move to the south of France.

The former New South Wales representative said: “I had good conversations with Steve McNamara to join Catalans for two-years and I was almost going to sign the deal.

“I told Ivan [Cleary] the situation and he said, ‘give me a day and I’ll get back to you’ and then offered me a new deal. I had to stay, Penrith Panthers is too good of a team to turn away.”

Although with his new contract running out at the end of this season, Peachey isn’t ruling out a Super League debut next year.

He said: “I’ve got one more year at Penrith, but I have always wanted to come over and play in the Super League, it seems like a really enjoyable type of footy where they play off the cuff.

“So, I will play out the year and see what happens.”

Saturday’s World Club Challenge clash with Wigan Warriors could provide Peachey with the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his ability against the reigning Super League champions.

Speaking on game, Peachey, who is set to feature from the interchange bench at the DW Stadium, shed a light on how the NRL champions have been preparing for such a massive fixture, where they hope to avenge last year’s narrow defeat to St Helens.

“It’s been a long pre-season,” he said.

“It’s hard out in Penrith, everyone trains really hard and that’s why they’ve been so successful. It’s been tough.

“Wigan have been good all year, we’ve watched a few games, in the Grand Final against Catalans they played really well.

“They’re a good attacking team who are really good at defence as well, so it should be a good game.”