WE NEED HIM BACK: The Owner of Penriths Panthers Brian Fletcher  announced to sell the team

WE NEED HIM BACK: The Owner of Penriths Panthers Brian Fletcher  announced to sell the team

Panthers will survive, that is the message CEO Brian Fletcher badly wants the local community to hear following the club’s closure this week.

Following an unblemished start to the 2018 football season, the Panthers are once again on holiday, forced to take at least one month off due to the NRL shutdown announced on Monday.

While other NRL clubs may struggle to survive these uncertain times, Fletcher is convinced the Panthers will make it through.

Speaking with Weekender on Tuesday, Fletcher stated that the Rugby League Academy would be closed by the end of the week, with the players and football department on indefinite vacation.

“The players are on leave for a month but that could be extended to two months, it just depends when we get an indication from the NRL as to when the comp will start up again,” he told reporters.

“We’re hoping all the staff can come back because right now they are just taking extended holiday leave and long service leave – we’d like to see them all back.”

Brian Fletcher. Photo by Melinda Jane.
Following the government’s statement that pubs and clubs would have to close due to the Coronavirus epidemic, Panthers was forced to close five of its licensed establishments across the state, in addition to its rugby league department.

Fletcher said it has been a difficult few days with so many people out of work, but he is doing everything in his power to help the Panthers survive.

“The past 48 hours have been extremely hectic…” There hasn’t been much time to wrap my brain around it. We just have to make sure we come out financially sound,” he explained.

“I’m sure we’ll be here at the end of it, but early signs suggest it could continue six months, which is fine with us financially.

“It’s going to make a large hole in the ground, but we’ll come out the other end, which is the important part. We simply have to keep working toward it, and if we can get out of it sooner, that would be a benefit.”

The Panthers are likely to lose tens of millions of dollars during the lengthy closure, which will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the local community. Fletcher added that while there will be a lot of pain in the meantime, he sees life returning to normal one day.

“We’ll be here at the finish I’m sure and will be playing rugby league games at Penrith again – it’s my job to make sure that we do come out the other side,” he went on to say.

“Everything I’m seeing now, in terms of cash flows and budgeting, has been modified to reflect the enormous downturn, and it still appears like we’ll be there on the other end.

“The business will alter, but it is a fact of life because your income will decrease drastically.

“It’s an absolutely terrible time but we’ll work through that and pray to God that everybody gets back to work sooner rather than later.”