Spoon to NRL title? How ex-Tiger has evolved at Penrith
Jasper Bruce |
Gun Penrith recruit Isaiah Papali’i admits self-inflicted pressure weighed on his shoulders as he battled for form at NRL strugglers Wests Tigers.
Now, the versatile forward is two wins off completing a whirlwind rise from wooden spooner to premiership winner in consecutive seasons.
After two brilliant years at Parramatta, Papali’i arrived at the Tigers to play under New Zealand mentor Michael Maguire and with hopes of helping revitalise the beleaguered joint venture.
But the Tigers sacked coach Maguire before Papali’i’s first season at the club, 2023, even began and the forward never lived up to his billing as a star signing.
If the two-year stint was underwhelming, Papali’i claimed it was his fault more than anyone else’s.
“I wasn’t performing so it made the pressure feel a bit more intense,” said Papali’i, who was released from his contract to sign with Penrith.
“I put it upon myself to take that on the chin because I wasn’t performing.
“Obviously you’re there to do a job and I wasn’t doing that. That’s more on me than them (the Tigers).”
After a slow start to life at the Panthers, Papali’i has surged into form to become the club’s most effective bench player since Spencer Leniu left.
“I’ve always prided myself on being a hard trainer but the diligence in my work has been helping me,” he said.
“I go back to that and put it on that as the reason why I’ve been playing pretty decent footy.”
Finals wins over the Warriors and Canterbury were two of Papali’i’s three best games for running metres this season, and the 27-year-old has scored in each of his past three games.
Papali’i is enjoying being a cog in the Penrith machine rather than the fulcrum around which the whole system operates.
“It’s lifted a lot of pressure … I’m just enjoying footy.” Papali’i said, comparing his roles at the Tigers and Panthers.
A win over Maguire’s Brisbane this Sunday would take Papali’i back to the grand final after his Eels fell to the Panthers in the 2022 decider.
Papali’i could follow ex-Tigers forward Luke Garner and become one of two players in Panthers history to win a premiership after claiming the wooden spoon in the previous season.
“I’m pretty eager to get back (to the grand final),” Papali’i said.
“I just know that I can’t really look past this Sunday, either. Broncos are a big challenge.
“That’s going to be our grand final because if we don’t win this week, then we don’t even get the shot.”
AAP
