BigBlog

The season may be over for the Panthers but it’s not over just yet for me. I’ve been named in the train-on squad for the World Cup and I’m keen for that – hopefully I’ll get chosen because I’d really love to be playing in such a big event.

I’ve been pretty happy with my form this year and getting picked for the World Cup would be a huge honour that would definitely cap off my year. Being named last week as Dally M Front-rower of the Year was a real honour for me as well and I guess that shows others have recognised that I’ve had a good year. Even though the Panthers didn’t make the semis in the end, I think there was a lot of improvement in the team from the previous year and, like I said a few weeks ago, I’m excited about next year.

It’s been a bit of an interesting few weeks for me in other ways too. My name seems to keep popping up in all sorts of places. There has been all sorts of speculation about what was happening with the Panthers but I just want to say that I am glad that the board has made a decision with regards to our coach and coaching staff and now we can move on and look forward to bigger and better things in 2009.

Just to make things clear; I am contracted to the Panthers to the end of next year and then the club have an option in their favour after that. There’s been talk about what I was going to do but as I said in the last blog, I am staying at the Panthers for next year. Obviously after that there’s a decision to be made. I’ll be 34 by that stage so we’ll see how the body’s holding up. I’m pretty confident that I’ll still be in shape to play, so whether there’s an option to stay at the Panthers or head over to England or elsewhere, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Next year will be an interesting time at the Panthers with so many experienced guys moving on. It’s a new beginning for the club and some of the young guys who came through into first grade this year will be getting a lot more time on the field. As captain and a senior player, that’s exciting. The captaincy this year has been great and I feel it has brought the best out in my game. Having that extra responsibility is something I cherish and I’m looking forward to playing a part in the development of some exciting young footballers, being a role model to them and being a positive influence on their futures as rugby league players.

On a different note, let’s talk about the first semi finals last weekend. It was actually one of the rare opportunities I’ve had for a while to sit down and watch a fair bit of football and gee, there were some fantastic games, starting with the Roosters and Broncos on Friday night. What a cracker of a game. So tough.

The Roosters really came out and gave it to the Broncos with some massive hits. But the class of the Broncos won out in the end and I just think that was a fantastic game of real old-style rugby league. I still have many friends at the Broncos so I’ll have to admit I was cheering them home. Great footy, and I think the Broncos are a real threat for the premiership.

In terms of the other games, like everyone I was amazed at the Warriors beating Melbourne. The Warriors really stood up to the Melbourne forward pack and it was great to watch. One thing I will say is that the Warriors exposed something I have suspected a little bit, that the Melbourne forwards may not be as formidable as they’ve been made out to be. I’m not meaning to knock those guys – they’re great players – but the Warriors took it to them in that area of the field and beat them.

Cronulla were very solid against Canberra and I think it’s got to a point where they shouldn’t be underestimated. They’re a quality team and although they are enjoying flying beneath the radar, they disposed of a Canberra side that had been sweeping all before them with relative ease. I don’t think they should be written off in any way.

But having said all that, the team that has really impressed me is Manly. If I had to put my money on a premiership winner right now I would pick the Sea Eagles. They took care of the Dragons with minimum fuss and they just look really dominant. They are a very ruthless football team with a great deal of control. So there it is – for the moment, I’m tipping a Manly premiership. But I might re-assess next week!

The first thing that I want to say very clearly is that I am NOT leaving Penrith. There’s just been some ridiculous rumours going around in the press this week that I wanted out of the club. It’s simply not true and I want to assure all the Penrith fans and everyone else that I am totally committed to the club and looking forward to giving it my full energy next year.

I’m actually a bit disappointed and a bit shocked that that story was going around.  There’s no truth to it at all. I am contracted to the Panthers and I’m going to see out my contract here. The Panthers have some amazing young talent coming through and, although a bunch of very experienced blokes are leaving this year, I think the future is very bright. So I just wanted to say that loud and clear. I am staying at the Panthers and I am committed to the club.

Now that that’s out of the way, I just want to say a few things about the game against the Warriors last weekend. Well, we had a lot to play for and we could have got ourselves into the eight with a win. But what can I say? We just brought ourselves undone again and as a result we’ve missed the finals. Very disappointing. We had a good start to the game, we picked up the first points, but after that there was just a crazy 15 minutes where they put three or four tries on us. It was tough going and it was hard to peg them back from there.

It was an emotional day for them with Ruben Wiki and a few other guys leaving, so we were up against it and we didn’t get it together. We needed to win and we needed a result or two to go our way but that didn’t happen, so it’s over, we’re gone for the year. It’s not a great way to finish the year, with one game remaining. So much hard work goes into a year of football and for it all to end pretty poorly is very hard to take.

If I look back at the year, you could say that if you look at where we placed last year we had a pretty good year this year because we just missed the eight. But it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like a disappointment. There were a few crucial games where we just didn’t turn up, with the one where we were flogged by Canberra a few weeks ago springing immediately to mind. We showed plenty of promise at different times and the fact that we were in the eight quite recently but then slipped out makes it even harder to take.

So now it’s time to look forward to next year. In the game against Manly on the Saturday night we will farewell a bunch of guys who have had some great success at the Panthers. Luke Priddis, Rhys Wesser, Tony Puletua, Luke Rooney and Shane Rodney, who’s off to Manly, are all leaving so it’s going to be a real changing of the guard next year. But we’ve seen the emergence of some fantastic talent this year as well, guys like Lachlan Coote and Wade Graham and a bunch of others. Those guys are potential stars of the future and will figure prominently next season.

Just on that final game against Manly, it would be great to see a big crowd down there to farewell our guys who are leaving. They’ve all been here a long time and brought the club the premiership in 2003 along with other successes and they really deserve a good send-off so I would implore everyone to come down to CUA and give them a big farewell. As a team we will be striving to prevent Manly from taking the Minor Premiership, plus we will be aiming to finish the season on a very strong note.

On a very different note, some of the boys (including myself!) are featured in a new photographic exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. So as a team we went into town to check it out. The exhibition is called “Heads Up” by an artist named Craig Walsh and features massive headshots of some of the Panthers’ players with some fans.

The photos were taken after the final whistle of one of our home games so they are very raw and full of emotion. They’re also massive, about seven or eight feet high. They really capture something, that’s for sure. It’s definitely worth checking out and fans can get a chance to win tickets to the World Cup if they get along there. It was a pretty different thing for a team of footy players to go to a contemporary art museum but it was really enjoyable - and thankfully my photo was hidden up the back. It’s pretty scary!

Things have been a bit up and down over the past few weeks. It was good to bounce back after the loss to Canberra to beat the Bulldogs. The Canberra loss hit us all pretty hard and we needed to erase that from our memories as quickly as possible. The win against the Dogs was nothing to get overly excited about, they've obviously got their fair share of troubles, but nevertheless it was important for us to get a win there.

Then of course we came up against Melbourne. What a tough task. We had a great week in preparation but unfortunately on the night I really think we shot ourselves in the foot a bit. They were just too good for us, but we certainly didn't help ourselves by the amount of penalties we gave away in the first 20 minutes.

Against such a great side like the Storm, who are very clinical in the way they play, they just make you pay for such mistakes. The amount of defence we had to do certainly took its toll and those things always come back to get you in games. Doing that amount of defence and using that energy will eventually show in some other area and that's exactly what happened. But we've got no one else to blame, we made some silly errors.

Melbourne just don't make mistakes and because of that they don't use as much energy as opposing teams. They just get through their sets, attack really well and have a great defensive pattern. It just shows the strength of the team.

Cameron Smith in his own right is a great player but the fact he has Cooper Cronk outside of him and then a super backline and a pack of forwards who are just prepared to work very hard means they are formidable and undoubtedly the team to beat in the competition.

If you're going to compete with the Storm you have to get in the arm wrestle with them but if you make mistakes and give away penalties they will just put you away.

We're off to New Zealand this weekend to meet the Warriors and there's a lot to play for for both teams. It's their last home game and a win will keep both teams' finals hopes alive, so it's an important game. A few of their players are also playing their last games for the club – Ruben Wiki, Logan Swann and Wairangi Koopu, so it will be a big game for all those reasons.

Going to NZ I'll get a good chance to catch up with some of my mates playing for the Warriors, Brent Tate and Steve Price. I've played a lot for Queensland and Australia with those blokes – and at the Broncos with Tatey – so we know each other well. Even though we're playing against each other on game day, we will still catch up and hang out a bit. We go back a long way and as professionals we can separate the actual game from our friendships.

But having said that, while we might be friends off the field, I'm sure we'll be looking to put a little bit extra in when we tackle each other. It's just the way it goes in footy. I actually told Tatey that he'd better be careful running into the middle of the park! He's an old mate and I'll be looking for him.

While I'm away in NZ, my mother-in-law has come down from Queensland to help my wife Bonnie with things. Obviously it's hard for her with three kids and being pregnant, so she can use an extra pair of hands for sure. I'm really glad that her mum's down to help out.

The NZ away trip is a bit tougher than others because of the time difference and the weather is generally not so great over there. Actually, most times I've been there it's been bad! Freezing cold and raining, so here's hoping it's okay this time. I actually spoke to Tatey however and he said it hadn't been too bad, but I'll wait and see. I'll be packing the long tags on the boots for the wet weather ("tags" is the Queensland word for "studs") just in case.

Outside of footy, I've done a few family days recently for Telstra and Mix 106.5. That's great fun and gets me out meeting the community. We have a bit of a chat with the fans, kick the footy around and all that sort of stuff. I love doing that kind of thing because I think it's important to stay in touch with the public and allow them to talk to you about the game.

Until next week,

Petero

Shocked and embarrassed. What else can I say? The game against Canberra was a shocker. The feeling after being beaten the way we were by a red-hot Canberra outfit is difficult to describe. At the end of the day, we just didn’t aim up, plain and simple.

There was a lot to play for and Canberra were obviously more committed and wanted it more than we did. I guess it’s been a very empty feeling since then. We had a three-hour bus trip after the match and I think the impact of the loss dawned on all of us.

We really let ourselves down and in particular we let our devoted supporters down. They were really behind us and wanted us to do well in that game. We could have consolidated our spot in the eight with a win there but we had a shocker.

There isn’t really anything we can attribute a loss like that to. We trained well in the lead-up, there were no dramas, we knew it was an important game and I thought we were up for it.  I’ve been asked by a few people if the conditions played a part in our performance but the last time I checked Canberra were also playing on the same field at the same time. That’s not an excuse we can use.

We started well but then Canberra put a try on us and from then on we just seemed to go into our shell. It’s hard to explain. But to lose to that extent was totally unexpected. Our communication just broke down, defensively we were very poor and that’s the reason why they scored 70 points against us.

They just couldn’t seem to do anything wrong on the day. Every pass was sticking and every tackle was being made. It was just incredible and they played some very good football. But it was a real shame for us and I said to the boys after the game that we all have to be men enough to accept the loss and the criticism that’s going to come our way after it.  I told them that it’s going to be a test of character, both individually and as a team. We’re really going to have to fight for the play-offs now and we know we have a big challenge on our hands.

But the important thing is that this week at training, everyone was raring to get stuck in. I think we all feel fired up after such a loss. But our focus now is to put that loss behind us and we trained really well again for the game against the Bulldogs.  There’s no excuses for what happened last Sunday in Canberra but we’ve moved on and have an important game this weekend.

To be honest we just want to get back on the field and prove a few things. There is a really strong bond between the playing group at the Panthers, so we’re keen to start things afresh this week. A great thing is we’ll probably have Luke Lewis back after the nasty head gash he suffered against Manly. That will give us a boost.

We also look like getting Adam Woolnough back into the 17 and also Frank Puletua will probably be back. Maybe Paul Aiton as well, who’s been playing some great footy for Windsor.

So we’re being positive and we feel like we really owe it not only to ourselves but to our fans who I feel we really let down last weekend.  They’re so passionate and we feel bad we disappointed them so much. Basically, we’re totally focussed as a playing group and we’re keen to back on the paddock and put last week behind us.

Last Friday night was a tough game and we knew it was going to be. Manly are one of the best teams in the comp and they definitely played like they are but we really didn't help our cause in the way that we played. We trained and prepared really well for that game but they still got us. It was a disappointing night at the office, that's for sure. Things just didn't go our way.

Manly are an extremely well-drilled side, they just keep coming at you and they just took control of that game. When you've got someone as good as Matt Orford directing the traffic, they're a hard team to get on top of. All the top sides have good halves combinations and they have a good team right across the park and cover the whole field so well.

Having said that, I really felt we had turned up for that game, but I feel there was a definite change in our mood when we were called back for that forward pass early in the first half. We came out throwing a lot at them, but when that pass was called back I definitely think we went back into our shells. After that happened, Manly were able to control the ball amazingly well and I think they had it for the next 15 minutes and that really shook us up.

It took a lot of petrol out of the tank and we found it really hard to get ourselves back in the game. Against good sides, one little thing like that can make such a huge difference. After that they got some tries which we've looked back on this week and just can't believe how soft and easy they were. They were caused by really basic simple defensive errors on our behalf.

There's no doubt that the fact that Manly played the Grand Final last year has made them really determined to go that next step this year. You can sense how much they want it. They are definitely going to be hard to beat but this weekend's game against Melbourne is going to be a big test for them. It's the Grand Final replay and I know I, like all rugby league fans, will be watching keenly.

We've got the Raiders in Canberra this Sunday and that's a pretty massive game for us. It's going to be a tough one. They're fighting to get back into the eight after they lost against Brisbane and are a real quality side. They're playing some fantastic footy and I think they were pretty unlucky against the Broncos. Although the Broncos ran away with it at the end, I don't think the score was an indication of how tight that game was.

I think there are some interesting similarities between Penrith and Canberra at the moment. We've both got quite a mix of young players and older players, and a bunch of players who aren't afraid to throw the ball around.

At the Panthers we've got some great young attacking players such as Michael Jennings. The bloke has just been on fire and it's great to see him rewarded with a spot in the train-on squad for the World Cup. That's massive for him and the bloke is that quick it's amazing. Then there's blokes like Wade Graham, our young five-eighth, who's only 17 and he's playing great footy.

Looking at Canberra, they have a lot of young guys and I think I read this week that their back rowers all only have one or two years' experience in the NRL.

They are playing some really entertaining footy and you've got to pay their coach Neil Henry for what he's done with the team.

In terms of preparation for this game, it's been the first time for a while that we've had a long turnaround so it's been really good to get over those niggly injuries. We even had a day off this week, so that was great. We actually organised a bit of a tennis tournament with the boys. A few of the boys are really good players! Michael Gorden is a star on the court, and Matt Bell is Penrith's all-rounder, there's no sport the bloke can't do. A great golfer, a good swimmer, the bloke can do it all!

Also this week all the boys headed out to a local noodle bar for lunch. We gave that a hammering, let me tell you! And being out on the streets of Penrith, we feel the mood is so good at the moment. The community really loves their league and gets behind the team.

On the home front, everything is going well. We're gearing up for our fourth baby and we're working out where we're going have it and all that sort of thing. At this stage, we think we'll have the bub up in Queensland. But it's due around World Cup time, so we'll have to see what happens. Hopefully I will be in the team so I might have to ask the coach for a bit of time off. Not many things come before football, but that's one of them for sure!