Lewis 'upset' at leaving Panthers

Penrith legend Ryan Girdler has revealed former team-mate Luke Lewis is 'upset' and 'shocked' to be parting ways with the NRL club.

Lewis met with Panthers general manager Phil Gould on Monday morning and was granted an early release from the final two years of his contract.

The 29-year-old, who will play out the rest of the season with the Mountain Men, told a packed press conference he asked to leave the club at the end of this season because he is stale and needs a new challenge.

But Girdler, a close friend of Lewis', says the NSW back-rower remains confused after his meeting with Gould and needs answers before he can move on properly.

"He's very upset, I think he's upset because he doesn't understand what's going on," Girdler told Triple M's The Rush Hour.

"And I think there's just a few grey areas and if that gets clarified, whether to him or the media or to the fans that'd be fantastic.

"It's like anything, if you don't understand it it's hard to put it to bed and he needs to put it to bed."

Girdler alluded to a break down in the relationship between Lewis and coach Ivan Cleary.

Cleary stripped Lewis of the captaincy before Origin I but insisted the veteran would be re-instated at the end of the three game series.

"He's a bit disillusioned as to why it's happened, I guess it started when he lost the captaincy back in the Origin period," Girdler said.

"And I think he feels that the relationship's got strained through that period and it's come to the point where the best thing is that he goes somewhere else and goes to a different club and leaves where he's grown up and he's supported all his life."

Lewis will not captain the Panthers in Saturday's Round 19 clash against the West Tigers.

"I don't know whether he feels he's been pushed a little bit, whether or not there's something else going on that we're not hearing – I really don't know," Girdler said.

"It's upsetting for the fans and the players because he's had a fantastic year, at the start of the year he actually was named captain and he said that it was the highlight of his career, and he's had a pretty illustrious career.

"It means a lot to him the club and he's going to be sorely missed."

Girdler, who played over 200 games for the Panthers from 1993-2004, openly questioned the direction the club is heading.

"I lay in bed last night and I was in shock, and Lewie is too," he said.

"I don't know how you replace a guy like that and I can't see the reasoning behind it, but I don't know both sides of the story.

"Is there a plan? Is there a reason for it? Maybe there's more to come, who knows?"