Tom Jenkins’ heartbreak in last year’s finals series was one of the brutal stories of 2025 and makes his redemption arc even more spectacular, but what’s not so widely known is a devastating injury blow earlier in his career that cost him a premiership.

It was his second year in Penrith when Jenkins scored 20 tries in 22 games and looked certain to lift the trophy with his teammates in NSW Cup.

But the rising star didn’t play in the 2022 grand final after he broke his hand in a freak injury at training following a collision with Liam Henry.

Jenkins was able to make a miraculous recovery to play in the State Championship a week after the NSW Cup decider, with the try-scoring machine now able to reveal what went down in that fateful session.

“It was just a very unlucky training incident,” he told the NewsWire.

“It was just a passing drill in defence. It was so unlucky, but I can look back now and laugh.

“I got surgery the next day and ended up probably being right to play in the final but not at 100 per cent.

“We made the call that it was best to just sit it out and then hopefully win the grand final so I’d be available for the State Cup.”

Four years later, Jenkins is now in a position to win the premiership he deserves after he was sensationally dropped for the finals opener 12 months ago despite thriving on the wing.

His journey back to the Panthers has been told many times, with Jenkins leaving at the end of 2023 but lasting just one season in Newcastle where he barely played.

He returned in 2025 and was set to play in the Ron Massey Cup, only to earn his shot in the NRL where he scored 13 tries in 21 games.

A maiden finals berth was his, only for coach Ivan Cleary to tell him that he was going to be replaced by Paul Alamoti.

Jenkins was told just minutes before he was scheduled to chat with the media, which meant he had to lie to reporters about how excited he was to be playing.

Fast forward a year and he heads into the finals with 30 tries – equal with Alex Johnston at the top of the leaderboard – with Jenkins able to joke about last year’s awkward situation.

“I’m not too sure yet, so we’ll wait and see. A few hours until team lists come out, but he (Ivan) hasn’t said anything yet, so fingers crossed I’m in,” he joked on Tuesday morning.

“Naturally it hurts, but I can still come out and laugh about it now.”

The pain of being dropped last year has played a role “to a degree” in his rapid rise, which has Jenkins in the mix for a World Cup spot next month.

“It was more the conversations with Ivan and the different things I need to work on that I knew myself as well, and a big pre-season was obviously going to help that,” he said after he started the season with 16 tries in the opening seven rounds.

“It put me in good stead for the season and I feel like I’ve been able to reap all the rewards of it, but still a long way to go yet.

“Maybe post-season I will look back (at being the leading try scorer) and I know mum and dad are pretty stoked about it, so I try to keep that under wraps for a bit with them.

“I guess you could say it’s been a nice rise and all that kind of stuff, but last year was probably more important in the sense that I was coming looking to play Ron Massey and ended up getting to play NRL.

“I’ve been in the NRL system for a while now and this year’s more about working hard. It’s sort of an old narrative now, I guess, the rise.”

Originally published as ‘I can look back now and laugh’: Tom Jenkins sensationally dropped ahead of the 2025 finals series, but it’s not the first time he’s dealt with pain