Paul Alamoti has described it as a “blessing in disguise” that the Panthers were thrashed by the Knights in Bathurst in Round 12 – a loss that saw them sitting dead-last but effectively turned their season around. The Panthers have pinpointed the ’embarrassing’ 25-6 loss as the turning point of their season, after which they drew a line in the sand and said enough was enough.
The defeat sent them to a 2-8 record (with one draw) to start the year, and saw them sitting stone cold last after 12 rounds. Ivan Cleary’s side appeared on track to become the first side since the 1953 Wests Magpies to go from premiership winners to wooden spoon in the space of 12 months.
But after the humbling defeat – which admittedly came with State of Origin players missing – they reeled off nine-straight wins and finished the regular season on an 11-2 run. Alamoti was axed to reserve-grade after the loss to the Knights, and only played five of their remaining 13 matches at NRL level to end the regular season.
Paul Alamoti (far right) was axed to reserve-grade by Ivan Cleary (L) after the Panthers’ loss to Newcastle. Image: AAP
But impressive displays against the Bulldogs and Dragons before the finals convinced coach Cleary that he was back to his best, and Alamoti was picked on the wing at the expense of unsung hero Thomas Jenkins for the first week of the finals. Alamoti, who scored a try in last year’s grand final before falling out of favour this season, believes the Knights game was a turning point on both a team and personal level.
“That was a brutal reality check for myself and the boys,” Alamoti told AAP on Wednesday. “Especially for myself, that was a night to forget. It was a blessing in disguise because that was our line in the sand, at that point we were sat dead last. Now we’ve managed to get ourselves back to where we are today.”
Back-up fullback Daine Laurie, who played the game in Bathurst while Dylan Edwards was on Origin duty, said: “We were all so embarrassed about ourselves after that game. We took it upon ourselves to make a change.”
The Panthers’ loss to the Knights was the turning point in their season. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
Panthers face Bulldogs in NRL finals blockbuster
That change has put the Panthers within a game of another preliminary final. They’ll take on the Bulldogs on Sunday in an elimination semi-final, and a fifth-straight premiership is well within their reach.
Back-rower Isaiah Papali’i revealed the moment that Cleary told his team enough was enough. “He sat us down and had a good talk with us – that was our line in the sand,” said.
“As much as it hurt for us to hear it, we knew where he was coming from and we understood where we were at that point. We had to go back to training hard, that’s what has worked here for so long and we had to have a little reminder of what it took to be successful, to find that hard nose about ourselves.”
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The Panthers are unchanged for the game against the Bulldogs with the exception of Mitch Kenny being added to the extended bench. The premiership-winning hooker is pushing to prove his fitness after missing last week’s win over the Warriors with a hamstring issue.
As for the Bulldogs, Stephen Crichton has also been included in the extended squad despite an ankle injury that looked to have ended his season. The skipper will be given every chance to play and is reportedly working around the clock on his rehab.
with AAP