Nathan Cleary might be the most popular of the giant heads being held aloft at Accor Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but father Ivan will give him a run for his money.
In the words of Enzo Montana, co-founder of Sports Heads, the company that prints and ships the giant cut-outs around the country, Ivan’s a “favourite among the older ladies that are fans of Penrith. They might find him attractive, I’m not sure”.
Penrith Panthers Fan Day from after winning the NRL Grand Final in 2023.Credit: Steven Siewert
Montana and business partner Jake Fenech started handing out cut-outs of Panthers players at games for free a few years ago to promote Montana’s sign-making business at the time. They never intended that the larger-than-life cut-outs would become a part of rugby league fan culture.
Soon fans started to ask how they could get their hands on the giant heads, so the company got licensed by the NRL and started Sports Heads in July last year. Now it has factories in Lidcombe and Jamisontown and, thousands of cut-outs later, you can’t go to a game without seeing one floating in the crowd.
“What started out as just the Panthers is now Storm, Roosters, Warriors, Broncos, everyone,” Montana said.
“We’ve seen people decorating their house with these. We’ve seen people decorate their cars with these, their houses, their factories, their shops. You can drive everywhere through Penrith, and you’ll see these everywhere.”
Unsurprisingly, the most popular player “hands down” is Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary.
“He sells five to one. For every five heads we sell, guaranteed one of them is Nathan,” Montana said.
But Penrith will have some competition next year, according to Montana, with sales for Bulldogs players Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton and Reed Mahoney skyrocketing during the 2024 season.
Since Montana started printing Bulldogs players in June this year, they’ve sold almost as many as Penrith. The two clubs have dominated sales this season, and Montana said that comes down to the passionate rugby league fandom in Western Sydney.
Sports Heads owners, Jake Fenech and Enzo Montana with some of the large cut-outs of players.Credit: Janie Barrett
“They’re the two biggest. They’ve got very similar fan bases, very tribal, very community sort of fan bases.”
“What you’ll find is if you watch a Penrith game or if you watch a Bulldogs game, their fans always are loud, they’re always noticeable,” said Montana. “They’re the fans that like this sort of stuff. Your Roosters fans, not so much. Sea Eagles fans, not so much.”
Montana said the giant heads – which cost about $30 for a large one and half that for a smaller one– were a low-cost way for fans to express their support, especially given the rising prices of more traditional rugby league merchandise.
“Football is very expensive to go to, right,” he said. “And when you’ve got a family, not everyone can afford to spend $150 on a jersey … so we thought this is a great product where people can support their favourite player for less.”
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