In-form Penrith winger Travis Robinson has revealed it was his mother’s insistence that drove him towards pursuing an NRL career after he walked away from the game for three years following a horrific injury.
Robinson scored his fifth try in as many games on Saturday as the Panthers beat St George Illawarra 19-0 to complete a third successive win and catapult themselves into the top eight.
It’s been a good year for the Robinson family with Travis’ twin brother Reece cementing his spot as the Canberra fullback, and the pair will face off against one another for the first time in three weeks time in the nation’s capital.
“We’ve always played with each other as kids and I am counting down the rounds until we play against Canberra,” Robinson told AAP.
“Hopefully we keep winning and I stay in the side and go against him.”
Robinson made his debut for the Panthers last year in a 46-6 hammering at the hands of Melbourne but he avenged that experience with a try in the Panthers’ shock 12-10 win against the premiers earlier this month.
It capped a remarkable turnaround for the 25-year-old who started this season playing in the NSW Cup, but four years ago moved to Alice Springs where he played park footy in a local competition.
Robinson was rated as one of the best young juniors at Cronulla but suffered a compound fracture of his tibia and fibia that threatened to end his career during a premier league game in 2006.
Disillusioned after two years of tough rehabilitation, he walked away from the Sharks and decided to pursue a career away from rugby league.
“I got the pretty bad injury and it was hard to work my way back in at Cronulla,” he said.
“I gave the game up moved away to Alice Springs for a year, then down to Canberra for a couple of years.
“I was just living, working and playing park footy. I never fell out of love with rugby league, but the hunger just wasn’t there.
“It took me out of the game for about three years, but I did get that hunger back when I was away.
“It was my mother that really pushed me into giving it one more crack and so far it’s been pretty good.”
Like his brother, Reece has taken a while to establish himself in the NRL after failing to break into the Brisbane side before moving to the Raiders and no-one is more pleased to see him excel than his younger sibling by 20 minutes.
“I am glad he’s down there and got that fullback spot. He’s playing well too so it’s a happy household,” he said.
“I’ve been pleased with how I’ve played, but I need to make sure I stay in the side now. It’s been a long road for me to get here.”
