Panthers' Cartwright a lock to bring flair
Feb 28, 2017 - 4:33 PM Penrith star Bryce Cartwright has revealed how coach Anthony Griffin will keep him closer to the ball despite moving back to the second row this season.Te Maire Martin's return from a shoulder reconstruction means Cartwright will revert to the back row when the Panthers kickoff their campaign against St George-Illawarra on Saturday.
But that doesn't mean Cartwright will be camped out on the flanks, with the ball-playing forward hinting at a possible move to lock during matches.
"I trained the whole pre-season in the forwards, not a second at five-eighth. I was mostly in the second row, and spent time time at lock," Cartwright told AAP.
"We've got a lot of back-rowers, so I might spend some time there. With lock, I can move around a bit too. It's going to help that I learn that position so I can know how to fill in there."
Regular No.13 Trent Merrin would move into the similar role of a front-rower, where the Panthers are also stacked with James Tamou, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Leilani Latu.
Isaah Yeo and James Fisher-Harris would play extended minutes in the back row.
"(Merrin) can still play in the middle, and so can I. We can just help each other," Cartwright said.
"When James Fisher-Harris comes onto the field, he can go to the right edge. I think that's how it'll work sometimes if we change. And we can both stay on the field at the same time."
Following a mid-season move to the halves, Cartwright was one of the Panthers' best last year in a fairytale run to the finals that came to an abrupt end two games short of the decider.
The 22-year-old said it was the encouragement from coach Griffin that allowed him to utilise his instinctive style and flourish in 2016.
"It gives me a lot of confidence that he puts that on me. It made me feel pretty special when he put me at five-eighth last year, that he had the faith in me to do that as well," he said.
"So he puts a lot of trust in me. I just have to keep repaying him and play some good footy."
Source: AAP
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