They are the 11 words from superstar halfback Nathan Cleary that will lift the spirits of shattered Penrith fans.
"It will be very, very hard to walk away after this," Cleary told Fairfax Media after Friday night's heartbreaking loss to Cronulla. "It's started a fire in the belly. We'll see what happens and go from there."
While the Panthers are out of the finals race following the 21-20 loss, the immediate focus will turn to locking up Cleary long term.
Cleary becomes a free agent on November 1, but the Panthers are keen to throw him a lucrative deal of up to five years, which will keep him at the foot of the mountains until the end of 2024.
It will then be a matter of when, not if, his famous father, Ivan, returns to the club as coach. Hopes of a reunion next year appear unlikely.
Just what Cleary will do once his existing deal expires at the end of next year was a storyline the halfback found impossible to escape all year, which is why he will not let it drag on again during the coming months.
A decision is likely to be reached well before his 21st birthday in November, which was seen as the unofficial deadline.
"I'm heading over to Bali and Thailand, I'll relax and get away from footy for a bit," Cleary said. "I'm going with family and then some school mates.
"I want to get this done as quickly as possible. There will be a lot of speculation and I don't want that.
"I'll have a good couple of days with the boys now, get through our reviews, then I'm happy to get straight into [negotiations].
"In the next week or so I'll start talks and hopefully get it wrapped up.''
Penrith are aware rival clubs will move quickly if Cleary becomes a free agent from November 1, hence their own eagerness to thrash out a long-term deal. They have already created a war chest by freeing up some space by releasing the likes of Tyrone Peachey to the Gold Coast and now Corey Harawira-Naera to the Bulldogs
The sweetener would be Ivan leaving Wests Tigers to eventually fulfil the family wish of being at the same club as Nathan.
A reminder of how close the pair are – and what gentle souls they are – was there to be seen at full-time at Allianz Stadium when they consoled each other.
"I was being a sook and had a cry on his shoulder,'' Nathan said.
"I couldn't hold it in when I saw mum and dad. They didn't say much and just told me how proud they were. They've always been so supportive of me.
I'm lucky to have those two as my parents.
"That was the first time I've cried after a game. I felt like I let the team down.
"It was really disappointing. To fight back the way we did, it's heartbreaking.
"It's been a pleasure to play with this team, especially to do what we did in the second half [fight back]. There are not many teams who can do it. And we've done it all year. It shows a lot of character.
"I think with this experience, everyone will be better for it next year. The way we lost tonight, it will give us a lot more hunger to come back bigger and better next year.''
Cleary suffered a knee injury in round three, returned to play in his first – and winning – Origin series with NSW, while his combination with James Maloney continually improved.
The Panthers, who bombed out in the second week of the finals for a third straight year, lose Peachey, Harawira-Naera and Christian Crichton, but also back fullback Dylan Edwards.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/it-will-be-very-hard-to-walk-away-cleary-s-big-hint-about-future-20180915-p503zi.html
Not fussed if we get Nathan or not, I'm happy with Brooks. Like many have said it's the forwards we need! Get some aggressive, strong metre makers and I reckon Brooks will shine in 2019.
The only downside of not getting Cleary is the eventual (and likely earlier than expected) loss of his daddy as our coach. I was really hoping to see what Ivan could do with us over the whole 3 year period, with the strengthening of our roster. Now that will likely be cut short and even if he is made to see out his contract, there will always be a question over his commitment to us while ever Nathan plays for a different team. Bugger of a situation to have happen just when things were looking up for us.
On another note, I didn't know Penrith were losing Edwards as well - where is he going to? Great fullback, would be handy.
Think it’s a typo, says but, back and fullback. doesn’t say lose Edwards I think it’s meant to say but will welcome back fullback Dylan Edwards.
