‘Heart and soul of this team’: Isaah Yeo enters the Immortals debate as Panthers great prepares for club record

Billy Slater is odds on to one day be an Immortal given he redefined what it means to be a fullback in the modern game. And there’s an emerging school of thought that Panthers lock Isaah Yeo should also be in the conversation considering most teams have tried to copy what he’s done in the role. Yeo will become the first man to play 250 games for the Panthers when they take on North Queensland on Friday night, which in itself is a remarkable feat given the team has been in the competition for almost 60 years. There is no one more deserving of the accolade than the humble man from Dubbo who made his debut as a centre in 2014 and spent time in the back row and on the bench before he finally made the permanent switch to lock in 2020. The rest is history with Penrith making five consecutive grand finals and Yeo winning the Golden Boot last year after winning a fourth straight title and captaining Australia to Pacific Championships glory. Current Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo spent many years working with Yeo in the Penrith system and can see why he’s already being mentioned as a future Immortal. “I’ve been able to watch his journey from a guy who was playing under-20s and probably wasn’t the star of a team because there were a lot of stars ahead of him,” he told the NewsWire. “So for him to become the first Panthers player to reach that milestone is a credit to him and his family. “He’s gone through the ups and downs throughout that journey. We had some tough times there at different stages and he moved around a few different positions, but eventually he found his own at lock in 2020. “He’s become one of the great players in our game and is now being spoken about in Immortal terms. “It was a privilege for me to watch him on that journey and see the man he’s become and the leader he’s become.” Panthers co-captain Nathan Cleary is the only other current player in the Immortal conversation, with the champion halfback in awe of his teammate who has become the modern day prototypical lock forward. Yeo’s ball-playing keeps the defence on its heels, but he can also run the ball hard to chew up metres which allows Cleary to work his magic. “I feel like over the past few years that there are a lot of teams that try to use their locks the way he does it,” Cleary said. “He’s so consistent. The high level he plays at is so difficult for anyone, let alone someone who plays 80 minutes in the middle every single week. “He’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s almost like a dad figure as well because everyone looks to him whenever they need anything, need advice or need picking up. “He’s always saying the right thing at the right time, and that’s him off the field. But then on the field, he’s an absolute freak of a player. “The work he gets through every week and the consistency and the high level he plays at through all the levels is quite incredible.” Rival players aren’t always comfortable speaking about guys from other teams. But such is Yeo’s influence that Bulldogs skipper and former Panthers centre Stephen Crichton was more than happy to praise the milestone man. “He’s been a massive part of my leadership journey and how I walk and talk right now,” he said. “He was a massive part of that while I was at the Panthers, and he was the older brother, big leader that I followed. “It shows how mature he is, and he’s one of the best out there so a massive congrats to him.”