Because of what’s happened since, Penrith five-eighth Blaize Talagi’s first clash with his former club Parramatta already feels like a long time ago.
In reality, it was only a month ago when the Panthers scored that much-needed win. At the time they were dead last on the ladder and it was fair to wonder that perhaps their great winning run was over and Talagi had arrived too late to be part of it.
But now, as they face Parramatta again on Sunday, their chances at continuing the dynasty don’t just feel reborn but forged in fire and the Panthers once again feel like they can be the monster at the end of so many team’s premiership dreams.
That Eels game kicked off a run of four straight wins that culminated with the 8-6 win over Canterbury two weeks ago that doubled as a warning to the rest of the competition that what Penrith have cannot die until it’s killed.
It was a street-fight of a match, the hardest game of Talagi’s young life and a taste of both what the Panthers have been through before and, given how open the premiership race now seems, what may yet be to come.
Penrith’s win over the Bulldogs was an announcement of Penrith’s return to the premiership race. (AAP: Dan Himbrechts)
“It felt exactly how it looked. They said it was like a finals-type intensity and it was definitely the hardest game I’ve ever played in,” Talagi said.
“They came to play and we felt it, that makes getting the win over them that much better.
“It’s such a good feeling, to get on a roll and get those four wins in a row. It’s boosted my confidence and helped me play better, I’ll do anything to keep it going.”
The Panthers will look to Talagi, both on Sunday and the weeks to come, as they look to continue their run.
Their draw is favourable, but some of their biggest names are through an exhausting State of Origin series and after New South Wales demoralising defeat Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, Dylan Edwards and Brian To’o will be battered physically and emotionally.
Penrith’s future is built on its recent past
They’re all expected to be rested at least once or twice and players like Talagi will be asked to continue their strong form in their absence.
But it’s a job he seems ready for. Like Penrith, Talagi took a while to get going in 2025 after he arrived over the summer as the prospective replacement for Jarome Luai after playing all over the backline for Parramatta in his rookie year.
Talagi didn’t get a start at five-eighth until Round 6 but he hasn’t missed a game since and has settled into the position nicely after migrating all across the backline in his strong rookie season with Parramatta last year.
With the benefit of hindsight, Talagi thinks the wait was the best thing for him — it meant his chance had to be earned rather than given.
“There was no pressure on me, I could bide my time and when the time came for me to be ready I wanted to take that spot and not go backwards and I think I’ve done that,” Talagi said.”
While Penrith are rounding into form at just the right time, Talagi understands he’s far from the finished product.
But his distribution skills, his connection with Nathan Cleary and his ability to fit into Penrith’s shape have all improved, while retaining the best thing about his game — a willingness to run onto the ball with little regard for what’s in his way.
“That’s just me. If I’m doing something it’s either 100 per cent or nothing. I think that’s a good mindset,” Talagi said.
“I think I’m such a different player to when I arrived at the club and that’s thanks to everyone, the boys and the coaches.
“My footy brain has changed. Not the talent or the ability, but being able to see things and being clear.”
That’s a clarity which has come through in his combination with fellow new faces, centre Casey McLean and winger Tom Jenkins.
Together, the trio have become one of Penrith’s best attacking weapons and their performance against Canterbury, where they saw off a sustained assault from former Panther Stephen Crichton, felt like a coming of age.
“Our combination has been growing each week, we’ve been connected at training and off the field and we see it improving, we feel it,” Talagi said.
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“There’s no underestimating us, we can go on to do great things and hopefully keep this going.
“The main thing for us has been putting the work in at training, keeping the standards high and our heads down. That shows on game day.”
Leaning on that right edge, and on Talagi’s physicality as a runner, will prove important if Penrith are to steer their way through the post-Origin period and back into the finals.
A fifth-straight premiership would take a different kind of effort — the Panthers would likely have to fight their way from the bottom half of the top eight and given 115 of the 117 premiership teams in Australian rugby league history finished the regular season in the top four, it’s as tall an order as can be imagined.
But finishing better than you start has become a way of life at the foot of the mountains and Talagi’s first season in black is living proof that it’s worth the wait.
