Nikora wary of Penrith threat in the golden west

Cronulla Sharks second-rower Briton Nikora isn't willing to write off the Penrith Panthers in 2026 despite their premature finish in last year's finals campaign.

The Panthers are coming off a dominant win against the premiers, the Brisbane Broncos, where they travelled to Suncorp Stadium to defeat them 26-0 in Round 1.

Meanwhile, down in the Shire, the Sharks defeated the Gold Coast Titans 50-10 in a thrashing.

Nikora revealed to Zero Tackle that although the Panthers will be seen as a tougher opponent this week, the game plan will not change, and the goal always remains the same.

"Yeah, it's going to be a tough challenge this weekend," Nikora said.

"But just sticking to the game plan, stick to what we know best.

"Just like what we do at training and that, all our comms, all our camaraderie out there. So, yeah, just trying to keep it simple and stick to our game plan".

When asked about the importance of stacking up those strong early-season wins, Nikora said it was crucial to remain consistent and provide solid performances each week.

"It was a good way to start round one. Yeah, (it was) also only round one, that's how we sort of taken it.

"Not getting too excited about what we've done and all that, we've got a big game this weekend, and we're just looking forward to getting the season underway.

"You always want to stack up those wins that you'd think going into a game that you obviously want to get the win, and at the back end of the season, when you look back at those, and you miss a few here and there, it sort of costs you at the back end.

"So yeah, it's good to get those wins in, but like I said, it's only Round One, one week at a time.

The Sharks come in as heavy underdogs, but a win against the premiership heavyweights this weekend puts them in an ideal position at this stage of the NRL season.

"Yeah, it'll be massive, obviously, on the weekend they played the premiership winners and they kept them to nil," Nikora responded after being asked what a win this weekend would do for the club.

"They've been a good team for six, seven years now. So, yeah, it'd be good for our confidence, and I don't think we'll beat them in a while. So that's what we're looking to do."

The Panthers juggernaut has been able to stay highly consistent for such a long period of time, and when their superstar players are snatched up by other clubs, they have a miraculous way to unearth new juniors to fill the void. 

"They've just been doing it for a long time. How they play, how they cover their business," Nikora added when asked what makes them so dangerous.

"They just grind people out, grind teams out, and they stick to the process.

"It looks like they don't get flustered when they're down and all that type of stuff.

"They've been doing it for a while now. So, yeah, it's just a battle of that type of game. I think it'll be back and forth and seeing who cracks first, really."

It will be a blockbuster clash in Bathurst on Saturday when the two sides in red-hot form face off, with the Panthers taking a home-game out west to country NSW in a bid to honour the strong ties the club has with country towns across the state.

Pathway players such as Matt Burton (Dubbo), Isaah Yeo (Dubbo), Liam Martin (Temora) and Dylan Edwards (Albury) are all from country NSW. 

Although it will be the city slickers from the Shire looking to spoil the party.

Having recently reached the 150 NRL game milestone last year, along with playing in his eighth season for the Sharks, Nikora has transformed from a young prodigy rookie in 2019 to an experienced leader amongst the forward pack. 

The silky back rower has played 15 tests for the New Zealand Kiwis and is using his valuable experience to help the younger crop of forwards progress through.

"I sort of look around, and see that, yeah, I am one of the old boys now.

"It sort of goes fast, but just keeping it simple, really, trying to give back to the younger boys and anywhere they need help in that sort of thing."