Penrith coach Anthony Griffin has revealed how star signing James Maloney turned down an offer to be rested from the team’s first NRL trial match.
Maloney set up a try and kicked astutely in a 23-minute cameo against the Sydney Roosters on Saturday before the Panthers ran away with a strong 30-18 victory.
Griffin kept Kangaroos representatives Josh Mansour and Reagan Campbell-Gillard on ice and was initially keen on saving Maloney for next week’s final hitout against Canterbury.
However, in a sign of Maloney’s desire to earn the respect of his new teammates, the NSW State of Origin five-eighth laced up the boots for their opening run.
“He got 25 minutes there tonight and it was good,” Griffin said.
“That was his idea too, he wanted to play. I gave him the option of waiting until next week but he wanted to get out there with the boys and make a start.”
Griffin said he had already seen Maloney’s impact on not only young halfback Nathan Cleary, but the rest of a team many have pencilled in as premiership contenders.
The former Cronulla pivot moved to Penrith after signing a three-year deal in what was effectively a swap for unhappy former captain Matt Moylan.
“He’s a State of Origin five-eighth, he’s won a few competitions and been in the playoffs a lot of times. And at this stage of his career, he’s got a lot of belief in what he does,” Griffin said.
“So he brings an assurance and calmness to the team.”
Maloney said he was surprised by the performance of a team he thought would need more time to gel this early in the season.
The Panthers led 20-10 at halftime before sealing the win with two late tries.
“It was probably more impressive than what I thought it was going to be. It was really positive, I’m really impressed with some of the young kids coming through,” he said.
“They’ve got plenty of footy in them.
“I didn’t have huge expectations going into this first hitout. A bit of a different feel and doing a few things a little bit differently but I was impressed with how it come together.”
Griffin confirmed he is likely to unleash his best 17 against the Bulldogs, including the returns of Corey Harawira-Naera and Waqa Blake from off-season shoulder reconstructions.
