Spencer Leniu admits he had to park his ego and focus on the opportunity in front of him after worrying he would miss out on a grand final appearance against the Newcastle Knights.
It has not been an easy stint at the Roosters for Leniu over the past two years, having got off on the wrong foot with the club after just one game in their colours.
Spencer Leniu has now won four premierships across two clubs. Getty Images
Leniu served an eight-game ban to kick off his time at the Roosters after making a racist remark about Broncos gun Ezra Mam during the 2025 Las Vegas opener.
The three-time Penrith premiership winner then went from being accustomed to regular minutes to battling for game time within the space of 12 months. He later was overlooked for his spot in the representative arena with the NSW Blues.
He continued to ruffle feathers throughout 2026.
In the final game of the regular season, he tried to punch on with South Sydney’s Keaon Koloamatangi after the pair’s fiery verbal confrontation.
Weeks later, the hurt of not being used as an interchange in the club’s preliminary final win over the Dolphins only added salt to the wounds of Leniu, with the idea of not playing for a fourth premiership ring a tough pill to swallow.
Leniu admits his anger about possibly not playing in the grand final led him to tell coach Trent Robinson that he would “pack my pom poms” to support the Roosters from the sideline.
But when Connor Watson was scratched from the team list due to concussion protocols, it became clear there was a strong opportunity that Leniu would play.
“I told Robbo, ‘I’ll pack my boots and my pom poms’,” Leniu, who is now a four-time premiership winner, told reporters on Sunday night.
“If I had to come on and do what I did or cheer the boys on, I would give it 100 per cent. I would have liked to have felt I earned my spot coming into grand final week. I didn’t do that.
“I had to park my ego and celebrate that we got into the grand final. So many people in the NRL would love to be in this position. There’s no way I could have had pity if I didn’t go on.”
Robinson admitted pre-game on Nine that he had told Leniu “just go out there and be Spencer” – a notion that might frighten a lesser coach.
The Roosters were crowned champions of the NRL for 2026. Getty Images
He then gave Leniu 24 minutes in his side’s remarkable premiership victory on Sunday, with the powerful prop finally living up to his $850,000 salary.
One of the biggest moments from Leniu came when he put a brutal hit on Dom Young and forced an error from the Knights gun early in the second half. The Roosters then scored in the next set via Billy Smith to level the scores, 12-12.
By full time, Leniu had recorded 94 run metres, six hit ups and two tackle breaks. He had been a vital game-changer that helped his team secure the win.
“Leniu came on in the 30th minute, the fortunes turned for the Roosters,” Newcastle legend Andrew Johns said.
“They won field position and came up with big runs. He’s had a massive impact, he’s used to these games, he’s been here before … what an impact he has had.”
Robinson, like Johns, was full of praise for Leniu’s impact in the grand final.
“Spenny got left out last week … and he handled it really well,” the coach said during his post-game press conference.
“We just asked him to play like him tonight, and geez, we needed it.
“No one bends the line like him. We needed it in bucketloads tonight and it was really fortunate that he did.”
Still, Leniu’s time at the club could be at its end despite having 12 months remaining on his contract, with rumours he is poised to jump ship to the Parramatta Eels.
The reported deal would see Leniu link up with his former Panthers teammate Jarome Luai for a season, before the latter moves to PNG in 2028.
The 26-year-old made clear that his decision to join the Roosters in 2024 was an opportunity he knew he would regret if he declined.
“Everyone as a kid always saw the Roosters as the pinnacle,” he said.
“It was a bit of an up and down year, I’m just happy I got to put it together on the biggest one.”