Retired Penrith skipper Peter Wallace endorses James Maloney as the man to lead the Panthers
SPEAKING for the first time since announcing his immediate retirement from the NRL, an emotional Peter Wallace endorsed star recruit James Maloney as Penrith’s leader
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HE’S won two premierships and is in his 10th NRL season, but James Maloney has never been more than a caretaker captain.
That is about to change with outgoing Penrith skipper Peter Wallace anointing Maloney as his heir apparent.
Maloney, who has deputised for Wallace since the hooker was injured last month against the Knights in round 10, begins his reign as fulltime skipper when he leads the Panthers out against the Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
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Speaking for the first time since announcing his immediate retirement from the NRL, an emotional Wallace endorsed the star playmaker as the man to take over as captain.
“[He has] a wealth of experience, been around for a long time and is a proven winner. I know the boys really look up to him and he gives them a lot of confidence having him in the team. They’re in very good hands there,” Wallace said.
Maloney’s leadership credentials at the foot of the mountains are highly rated.
Three weeks ago, Penrith supremo Phil Gould even backed Maloney to lead the NSW Blues ahead of Boyd Cordner in the 2018 State of Origin series.
The experienced five-eighth will have some big shoes to fill as the club’s new leader with forward Isaah Yeo revealing the extent of Wallace’s influence at Penrith.
He says the tough rake’s hardworking and down to earth attitude has left an indelible mark on the culture of the side — one of selflessness and tenacity.
“The club started rebuilding around six years ago and he’s been a big building block in that I think,” Yeo said.
“You don’t get many leaders like that to a club and obviously we’ve had so many young kids coming through he’s just the ideal role model for them.
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“I think that’s why we’ve got such a good culture at the moment, I think a lot of it boils down to Peter and his leadership style and who he is a person.”
Wallace has been playing without an ACL for two seasons but it was a bicep injury that finally caught up with him.
In a testament to his selflessness, Wallace made the decision to retire because he didn’t want the injury to let his team down or get in the way of a younger player coming through the ranks.
“I would have liked to have been there towards the end of the year but it wouldn’t be fair on them [teammates] or the club to hang on for the sake of it if I won’t be able to contribute and contribute in the right way,” he said.
Back-rower Yeo says Wallace’s shock retirement has only added another incentive to continue on their quest for premiership glory.
“If we could, it would be wonderful to do it for him. Obviously it’s in the back of everyone’s mind. Hopefully we can send him off on a high note even if it won’t be playing with him,” he said.
The ladder-leaders face a huge task against the Roosters and Yeo says the Panthers need to improve on their last-gasp win against the Raiders if they are to overcome the Chooks.
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Originally published as Retired Penrith skipper Peter Wallace endorses James Maloney as the man to lead the Panthers
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