Jason Taumalolo's 10-year deal was an out-lier, yet the desire from North Queensland Cowboys to build their footy club around Taumalolo was crystal clear. We have also seen this intention to put immense faith in a few of our #KiwiNRL lads when Martin Taupau extended his deal with Manly Sea Eagles to 2020 and Sio Siua Taukeiaho was handed a long-term deal with Sydney Roosters. Now it's Dean Whare's turn to enjoy stability with a club that has stood by him through injuries and should now enjoy the fruits of that labour.

Whare was being chased and since returning to the field this season, Whare has showcased why he is a top-five NRL centre which would have only enticed other clubs. Penrith had Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Whare coming off-contract this season and before the season began, there was plenty of noise about their respective futures; at one stage they were both heading to Manly.

The depth of Penrith's outside backs had me wondering how they would juggle this situation moving forward and the injury to Kangaroos winger Josh Mansour has eased that pressure. Mansour's injury has allowed Penrith coach Anthony Griffin the chance to roll out Whare, Watene-Zelezniak, Waqa Blake and Tyrone Peachey, effectively opening up a pathway for Whare to return to his best this season.

Mansour's injury was definitely a slice of luck, although the fact that Penrith have re-signed Whare and Watene-Zelezniak shows that Penrith are eager to have them around, playing alongside Mansour. Instead of Whare and Watene-Zelezniak being on the outer, they have both been re-signed and once Mansour returns, my #KiwiNRL bias has me thinking that Blake could make way or Peachey could move back to the forwards.

No one really expected Whare to get a five-year deal though, especially with the uncertainty around the future of the salary cap. Whare isn't in the strongest negotiating position given his injury history and NRL centres tend not to be a club's highest earners, Penrith have the highest upsides of any NRL club as well and Whare would have been foolish to ignore how strong Penrith could be through the next few years.

The level of Penrith's young talent is exactly why they made a point of showing faith in Whare. Everyone in that Panthers backline is young and while they are good footy players now, their potential is even greater, as always you need to have veterans who can lead the way on the field and off the field. Penrith have James Tamou, Trent Merrin and Peter Wallace in their forward pack but lack a classy splash of experience in their backline and that's exactly what Whare gives them.

Talk all you want about young talent; a team with Tamou, Merrin and Whare in it is going to go alright - Wallace deserves to be in that bracket also.

This also ensures that the Maori Panthers are going to enjoy multiple seasons together and the prospect of Te Maire Martin building on his combination with Whare is incredibly exciting. If James Fisher-Harris can nail down that right edge spot for Penrith, then we can look forward to Martin, Fisher-Harris, Whare and possibly Watene-Zelezniak in an all-#KiwiNRL right edge for Penrith.

Penrith have established a few cornerstones for their future and they are the blokes that everyone zones in on as reasons to be super optimistic. Whare is now one of those cornerstones, just don't expect Whare to get the same level of hype as a Tamou, Merrin or Matt Moylan.

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