Isaah Yeo had one aim when he started his rugby league career – to eclipse his father, Justin, who played 11 first-grade games for Balmain and North Sydney.
“Dad would always mouth off about his 11 games, so when I started, the goal was to play 12 games and score one try – anything after that was going to be a bonus,” Isaah told this masthead. “I’ve lapped the old man now.”
Yeo brings up 250 games for the Panthers against North Queensland on Friday night at Commbank Stadium. He overtook Steve Carter’s long-standing club record of 242 games during last year’s preliminary finals.
Now 30, Yeo is playing as well as ever and, with a bit of luck, will reach 300 games before his contract runs out at the end of 2027. After that, Yeo is open to a move to Super League, or Perth.
Yeo, the recipient of the 2024 Golden Boot awarded to the game’s best player, was only too happy to take time out to recall his previous milestone games.
Replacing Jamal on debut
Yeo learned two days before the first game of the season in 2014 he would be making his debut in place of the injured Jamal Idris.
Idris had tweaked his hamstring, and coach Ivan Cleary, then in his first stint as head coach of the Panthers, turned to the skinny kid from Dubbo who was listed in the No.20 jersey.
“I had to mark up on BJ Leilua, and we were the two most tired players on the field,” Yeo said. “Newcastle ended up with a heap of injuries, Kurt Gidley was knocked out, and they only had one player left on the bench.
“[Panthers teammate] David Simmons told me with about five or ten minutes to go to soak it all up. For some reason, I vividly remember him telling me that, and I did. I took nothing for granted.
“I did nothing all game. I helped take someone over the sideline. Other than that, I was just out there being a number.”
Yeo’s debut was so last-minute that the club forgot all about keeping his debut jersey.
“It went into the wash with everyone else’s jerseys,” Yeo said. “It was only about two years ago the club found a jersey that was similar to that season and embroidered it for me. I’ve kept every other jersey from the milestone games.”
Golden try disaster in game 50
The Panthers travelled to Mt Smart Stadium and lost in extra time when Shaun Johnson scored an 89th-minute try to ruin Yeo’s 50th game.
Highlights from the wet and windy night showed Yeo charging on to the ball in the opening minutes and spilling it just metres from the tryline.
“I don’t think much was done at all for the 50th, and I don’t remember much from that night, other than it was wet and windy as usual,” Yeo said.
The loss also marked the first time a young Nathan Cleary went head-to-head with his idol Johnson, against the club he spent time with as a ballboy when father Ivan was coach.
Suncorp hammering in game 100
Suncorp Stadium is one of Yeo’s favourite venues, but it wasn’t a happy hunting ground in round 19, 2018, when the Broncos reached the half century in Yeo’s 100th game.
Jarome Luai played fullback, Waqa Blake spilled the ball in the opening minutes and Brisbane scored – then kept scoring. The night also featured Corey Harawira-Naera chasing Anthony Milford after having his hair pulled in backplay.
“I was starting on an edge and then moving to the middle when Corey would come on,” Yeo said. “We were flogged that night. I think I dropped the ball and they scored a try off the back of it.
“I won the Merv Cartwright Medal that year [for being Penrith’s best player], but I wasn’t going through a good period around that stage of the season.
“Suncorp remains one of my favourite places to play because of how loud it is when you’re playing against the Broncos, Queensland, or Magic Round. But I’ll try to forget that one.”
Pretty in pink for game 150
The Panthers surprised Yeo before his 150th by inviting his parents, Justin and Amy, to present their son with his milestone jersey.
Justin made fun of his son’s receding hairline, and how even back then Yeo somehow looked 45 years of age.
“We beat the Dogs in torrential rain, there were puddles everywhere at CommBank, and I remember skolling a beer with dad in the sheds afterwards. That was a nice moment,” Yeo said.
It has become a club tradition for debuting players and staff celebrating birthdays to skol a beer in the sheds after a game as part of the club’s tradition. There have been times when players are left standing in silence waiting for their teammate to swallow the amber nectar as the seconds tick on.
“There were no such dramas with dad and I that day,” Yeo said.
Capital punishment for 200
The Panthers turned it on late against Canberra at GIO Stadium to triumph 53-12 in round five, 2023, for Yeo’s 200th.
“My grandparents, Pat and Kier, were at the game, but a lot of the family didn’t travel down for the game because it was in Canberra. But Ivan had some nice things to say in the lead-up,” Yeo said.
“We had [daughter] Haven then, so it was nice to share that moment with her.
“When I broke Carter’s record in last year’s prelim final against Cronulla, Haven wanted nothing to do with it when I walked out. But the two boys, Tatum and Lennox, came on to the field, so it was nice to have those memories to cherish and look back on.”
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