“I don’t know too much more about [R360]. You can attach yourself to something, but what if it doesn’t happen?
“I’ve always heard people say, play every game like it’s your last, and I reckon that’s resonated with me. I took that mentality into the Sharks game [Friday’s preliminary final], I’ll take it into the Broncos game, and whatever happens after that, we’ll see.”
This time last year Papenhuyzen’s future was also a hot topic after Gould met with the Sydney-raised fullback on several occasions.
Ryan Papenhuyzen says he would be mad not to entertain an offer to join a rival code, given his serious injury history.Credit: Getty Images
Papenhuyzen told Gould “unfinished business” with the Storm was the main reason he passed on the opportunity to join the Bulldogs, but said “I feel like Gus will be a guy I’ll always be in contact with”, and “I respect what he’s done in the game”.
“It’s nice to be wanted,” Papenhuyzen said. “Gus was very impressive. We had a lot of great chats, not even about footy, but about golf, about books.
“Canterbury were the team I went for as a kid. But at the end of the day, there was that overarching feeling we were building something special here at the Storm as a group, and I want to be able to see that out.”
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Papenhuyzen said the Storm had learnt valuable lessons about how to better handle grand final week, including all the fan and media commitments, something they were largely spared due to COVID restrictions before they took out the 2020 premiership.
“We’ve just got to enjoy the week a bit more and see it for what it is,” Papenhuyzen said. “You get to play in a grand final, it’s a special achievement.”