Champion Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards. Photo: Melinda Jane.

He’s the fullback for his state, country and of course the four-time premiership-winning Panthers, but Dylan Edwards admits he’s still learning on a weekly basis.

Since returning from another gruelling State of Origin campaign, the 29-year-old has been on fire over the past fortnight – scoring three tries, kicking five goals, and running an average 313m per game.

As one of Penrith’s leaders, Edwards is proving an inspiration to his teammates, in particular the young brigade who are in the midst of their first full season in the NRL.

Speaking with the Weekender this week, Edwards says he’s been impressed with how the likes of Thomas Jenkins, Casey McLean and Blaize Talagi have been performing over the past two months.

“I’ve been really impressed with the performances they’ve been putting in consistently at the moment. It’s really impressive for a young group of guys,” he said.

“They are working really hard on the training paddock, and they have been for months, so I’m happy that they are building their season and are playing really well at the moment.”

But it wasn’t that long ago that things weren’t going so well for the Panthers. Not only did the team drop five on the trot earlier this year, but they were also languishing at the bottom of the table following a thrashing to the Knights in Bathurst.

Edwards said he’s proud at how his teammates, especially the younger ones, were able to overcome the challenges of earlier in the season.

“That sort of adversity and resilience they had to build from earlier in the year is going to serve them well, hopefully, throughout their long careers,” he said.

“They learned some tough lessons early but were able to ride that wave and come out the other side.

“They are still learning obviously but they are playing good footy at the moment, and they are working hard towards that.”

If anyone knows anything about adversity it’s Edwards, who also endured a tough start to his NRL career.

Fortunately, with hard work and perseverance, he was able to turn his career around and is now one of the premier fullbacks of the competition.

Dylan Edwards chats with Nathan Taylor. Photo: NRL Photos.

Edwards said despite his extensive resume that includes a Clive Churchill Medal, he’s still learning.

“I’m definitely still learning,” he admitted.

“As long as you play this game, you’re finding little lessons here and there. Rugby league is the ultimate leveller… as soon as you think you’ve got it figured out; it can quickly bring you back down to earth. As long as I’m playing the game, I’m still learning.”

Now sitting in fifth position, the Panthers will look to further cement their place in the top eight when they battle the Titans on the Gold Coast this Saturday at 3pm.

Edwards said Des Hasler’s men are probably better than the position they currently find themselves in, 16th.

“They weren’t far off beating the Tigers the week before either – they just got pipped there. And they beat a top four side last week over in New Zealand, which is really impressive, and you expect them to be even better at home,” he said.

“They are playing some good footy, they play a dangerous brand of footy, and we’ll have to play our best if we want to beat them.”

Nathan Taylor

Nathan Taylor is the Weekender’s Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.