Spencer Leniu will depart the foot of the mountains for the Sydney Roosters at the end of this season after he confirmed the news on Monday, even though he's 'never been further east than Blacktown'.
The Samoan international has been a dynamo for the Panthers over the past few seasons, playing in both grand finals as he announced himself as one of the most impactful bench props in the game.
Having collected two premiership rings and a World Cup campaign under his belt whilst at Penrith, Leniu is keen for a fresh challenge. As hard as it was to tell his team-mates he'd be departing the club, the front-rower had to push what he's comfortable with.
โThe decision was purely based on the benefit of me and progressing my career,โ Leniu told The Sydney Morning Herald.
โI felt like I had to get out of my comfort zone and try something new and challenge myself. That was the most important thing to making the decision.
โThere are a lot of other things I took into consideration. Trent [Robinson] is a really good coach and the Roosters have been the pinnacle of the NRL for a number of years. There was an opportunity there for me and he explained what he sees in me and how I can impact that team.
โWestern Sydney is my home and I've never really been further than Blacktown. Moving to the east will be a difficult transition, but I'm looking forward to it.โ
The Sydney Roosters have rebuilt their forward pack in recent years despite their sustained success, losing Boyd Cordner, Jake Friend and Mitchell Aubusson through retirement, while Sio Siua Taukeiaho has left for Catalans, and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will depart Bondi at season's end.
The younger pack now consists of names like Egan and Nat Butcher, Fletcher Baker, Victor Radley and Lindsay Collins, the next generations of Rooster forwards ready to build their next dynasty.
Leniu isn't just eager to join the Roosters' forward pack, but move into a starting role over time, with starting middles Isaah Yeo, James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota occupying big minutes.
The 22-year-old only averages just over 20 minutes per game as it stands, a number he's ready to bump up big time.
โThe plan is to build those minutes and eventually get into that starting position,โ Leniu said.
โI understand this front-row position is a very difficult one in the game, but I'm just biding my time and when the time's right, the time's right.
โThat week we had off was one of the most stressful times in my career so far. Definitely telling the boys was really hard, but it was a lot of weight off my shoulders after I told them. They all understood, so it was all good.
โIt was pretty crazy the last time I had to make my decision to re-sign with this club I was pretty stressed out. I asked the boys [Stephen Crichton, Jarome Luai and Brian To'o] to go to dinner. All of them were in the same boat.
โWe thought, โwe need to make a sacrifice and represent our family and community. We'll have a crack at winning a premiership'. It's funny, the last two years we've won premierships and I sat down for dinner with them again and let them know [about going to the Roosters] and they were fully supportive of me and my decision.
โI'm really grateful for those guys.โ
Leniu will come off the bench against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who will be light in the middle third after losing Hame Sele, Jai Arrow and Siliva Havili to injury.
