Roosters’ Shaun Kenny-Dowall reveals how close he came to joining Penrith Panthers
SHAUN Kenny-Dowall the Penrith Panther. That’s not a typo, but an indication of how close it came when Kenny-Dowall moved to Sydney in 2004.
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Penrith Panthers star Shaun Kenny-Dowall ...
No, that’s not a typo, but an indication of how close such a sentence almost became a reality when Kenny-Dowall moved to Sydney from New Zealand in 2004.
Ahead of Monday’s clash against the Panthers, the Roosters flyer has revealed he was set to play for the mountain men before a last-ditch effort by the Tricolours to secure his signature.
“I’d actually signed a contract at Penrith,” Kenny-Dowall told The Daily Telegraph.
“I also went out there and looked at all the facilities and it was all organised for me to go to school at St Dominic’s College.
“But the Roosters got involved and stopped it.”
Kenny-Dowall was already training at the Roosters’ gym as a registered junior of the Clovelly Crocodiles.
During this time he built a close rapport with the chooks’ SG Ball coach Brian Gray — the father of current South Sydney winger Aaron Gray — who acted as soon as he heard about the Penrith deal.
“My manager at the time scouted me out to the Panthers, but once Brian and the Roosters found out I had signed a contract they counter offered,” he recalled.
“I ended up getting out of my contract on compassionate grounds because my family still lived in the Eastern Suburbs.
“I had become pretty familiar with Brian and he had come to watch a few games. He said he’d love to have me, so they signed me up.”
The rest is history and Kenny-Dowall has gone on to play 202 NRL games for the Roosters heading into Monday’s match against Penrith, the club who thought they had his signature locked in 12 years ago.
“It has been quite a rollercoaster, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” conceded Kenny-Dowall, who has also won a premiership and a World Cup with New Zealand during his time in the NRL.
“I’ve learnt a lot about myself and they’ve turned me into a better person and definitely a better rugby league player as well.
“I owe a lot to the club and I wear the jersey with pride every week — I love the place.”
After avoiding the Roosters’ worst start to a season in half a century with a dominant win over South Sydney, Kenny-Dowall stressed the importance of maintaining the momentum against Penrith on Monday.
“We highlighted a few key areas that really worked for us on the weekend and it was great to see the boys take that out in their performance and play the way they did against a quality opposition,” he said of the 17-10 win over the Rabbitohs.
“Those are the things we have to hold on to this weekend against the Panthers and recreate it again.”
Originally published as Roosters’ Shaun Kenny-Dowall reveals how close he came to joining Penrith Panthers
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