NRL Finals 2021: Why Ryan Papenhuyzen knocked back deal at Parramatta Eels as a junior
A former Parramatta recruitment manager has revealed how future Storm superstar Ryan Papenhuyzen slipped through their fingers after being offered a deal as a junior.
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The Eels recruitment manager excused himself when he saw the director’s name flash across his phone.
“Got to take this one,” he said before leaving the scouts to the sideline.
Anthony Field stuffed the match program, possibles and probables circled in red pen, into his back pocket before answering the call.
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“It was (former Eels director) Peter Serrao,” Field told News Corp. “He was calling about a kid. He told me his mate had a son that had some potential and told me to check him out.”
Field reached back into his pocket and pulled out the program. “Righto, what’s his name?” Field asked.
He stopped after writing “Ryan”.
“Papen … who?” he asked.
The name was Papenhuyzen, of course, and this is the story that will rewrite Ryan’s history.
Reportedly “brushed” by the Eels in a mistake that cost them a Clive Churchill medallist, News Corp can reveal Parramatta did not overlook Papenhuyzen because he was too small, as has been trumpeted. Or because he couldn’t tackle. Or for any other reason.
In fact, Parramatta tried to sign him in 2012. And we have found the man that offered him the deal that, until today, had been forgotten.
Parramatta’s recruitment and retention manager from 2012 until 2020, Field says he has been sitting on his secret for eight years.
“I have read all the stories about the Eels knocking him back and had a little laugh,” Field said. “They are wrong. And I know because I was the one who tried to sign him.”
Field can be revealed as the first person to show interest in a kid that was more “Papen … who” than Papenhuyzen in 2012.
“I did my research on him after getting the heads-up from Peter,” Field said.
“He went to school at Oak Hill College and was playing both league and union. He had been playing in our district (PJRL) until he was 10 or so then went out to the Balmain competition to play with his mates.”
After also learning Papenhuyzen was a star touch football player, Field made the trip to the St Patrick’s Marist College oval in Dundas to watch Papenhuyzen play a club game for the Dundas Shamrocks.
“Yeah, he could play,” Field said.
“He was small but that didn’t bother me because we didn’t need another big kid. Parramatta was full of big kids. We needed speed and instinct.”
And Papenhuyzen and plenty of both.
“I invited him to a trial,” Field said. “And Paps played a game with us down at Cabramatta. He went pretty good and I saw that he had something in him that was worth making an offer.
“So I offered him a position in the Under 15s development squad for the following year. As part of the deal, I told him that he would need to come back and play in our district. He had played at the Hills Bulls until he was 10 or so and I suggested he go back and play there.”
But that offer was not accepted and the Eels were denied a future superstar and he was eventually signed by the Storm.
“(His dad) thanked me for the opportunity and the offer but told me he had made a commitment to his mates at the Shamrocks and wanted to stay loyal to his local club. So that’s what happened. That is why he isn’t an Eel.”
Until now, everyone, including Papenhuyzen himself, thought the Eels had knocked the local junior back.
“I remember I was in a touch footy side and playing for Parra,” Papenhuyzen said in an interview last year. “One of the dads was friends with the (Parramatta) recruitment guy and he wanted them to pick me up, but their thing was that I was always too small.”
Field suggests Papenhuyzen may have forgotten about the offer or did not know about it.
Even though he offered him a deal, Field admits he did not expect Papenhuyzen to become the player that is on the verge of leading the Storm to another title.
“To be honest, I didn’t know he was going to become the star he is now,” Field said.
“The truth is he was fast, instinctive, but he was small. But I could see there was something about him and that is why I offered him the deal.”
And that was far more than most saw or offered in the youngster. At least until the Melbourne Storm came along and turned him into a superstar.
Smith opens up on Storm future
— Peter Badel
Melbourne hooker Brandon Smith has hit out at speculation he is poised to quit the NRL premiers to join the Bulldogs or Titans, admitting it will be “virtually impossible” for him to walk out on the Storm.
Smith has set the record straight on persistent rumours he has held talks with Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett and wants out of Melbourne in the build-up to the Storm‘s preliminary final against Penrith on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.
Smith, off-contract at the end of next season, can field formal offers from November 1 and the tackle-busting rake has been consistently linked to a big-money defection to either Canterbury or the Gold Coast Titans.
Smith was buffeted by suggestions he was set to follow teammate Josh Addo-Carr to Belmore next season after Bulldogs coach Barrett reportedly flew to Melbourne in May for talks with the Storm duo.
Mindful of the poaching threat, the Storm have reacted, tabling a lucrative three-year extension to keep Smith in Melbourne until the end of 2025.
There is a view the Storm will struggle to retain Smith under the salary cap due to their galaxy of highly-paid stars, but the New Zealand Test hooker has given the strongest indication yet he will stay loyal to Melbourne.
“To be honest, it’s going to be virtually impossible to say no to the Storm,” Smith said.
“I say that because of what they have done for me as a player and a person.
“I’ve been linked with the Titans, the Tigers and the Bulldogs ... geez, they are all going great at the moment.
“I want to sort my future out sooner rather than later. I want it done sometime during the pre-season, but before I sign anything, I want to be able to address the Storm if I am leaving.
“My preference is to stay here.
“I guess any club is any hope, but it’s just whether I can bring myself to leave the Storm and to be fair, it’s hard to see me doing that.”
Smith could stand to earn more at a rival club, but the Storm, by virtue of their unrivalled success, have a history of retaining their big guns at a reduced salary.
Earlier this season, off-contract Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes knocked back a $2.5 million, three-year package from the Warriors to chase more premiership rings at Melbourne.
The struggling Bulldogs have cash to spend and would relish adding Smith to their roster rebuild, but the Storm rake hosed down suggestions he is bound for Belmore.
“I spoke to Trent Barrett when he was in Melbourne, but there were no serious talks,” he said.
“Joshy (Addo-Carr) was at a cafe with Trent and then I came and spoke to them.
“It wasn’t about contracts. He was obviously interested but I haven’t talked numbers with the Bulldogs or any team.
“I have put everything aside and come November 1, when I can get formal offers, there will be a lot of discussions between me and my manager.
“That’s irrelevant now when I’m trying to win a premiership. I’m not available until 2023 and I have been trying to stay out of the papers talking about my future.”
Melbourne football-operations boss Frank Ponissi remains confident Smith will continue his career at the Storm.
“What‘s annoying Brandon more than anything else is the constant speculation,” he said.
“He is happy at the club and he is focused purely on winning a grand final in the next two weeks. I don‘t know why there has been so much focus on Brandon’s contract.
“We have not given Brandon permission to talk to rival clubs.
“We‘re having discussions in the background, Brandon has stuck to his word and said he will worry about a new deal in the pre-season.”
Inside Storm star’s incredible recovery
—Travis Meyn
Tui Kamikamica couldn’t get out of bed, let alone walk. All 195cm and 110kg of his hulking Fijian frame was immobilised.
Melbourne Storm teammate and great friend Justin Olam was bringing three meals a day to Kamikamica’s hotel room on the Sunshine Coast last year as he lay bedridden with a serious back injury.
Olam had to mask his worry when he walked into the room, sometimes holding a bag of Kentucky Fried Chicken in the hope of raising Kamikamica’s spirits.
But they didn’t need lifting. Kamikamica had enough motivation already.
“I had a bulging disc where I couldn’t leave my bed for two weeks. I couldn’t even walk,” Kamikamica said.
“That was a tough period to be honest. The back injury was one of the worst injuries. I didn’t even know if I could come back to play.
“For those two weeks I had that sort of thinking (my career was over). The only thing that motivated me was my family in Fiji. I want to make them proud. I wanted to get back on the field.
“To have back surgery, I didn’t know what would happen.”
Olam remembers fearing for his friend’s future.
“Poor bloke, he suffered pretty badly with the back injury last year,” Olam said.
“I was definitely worried about him but I didn’t want to show I was feeling those kinds of feelings. When I went to see him I tried to be positive.
“It was a hard thing seeing him like that. He couldn’t even move. We had to bring him food. He is a big boy and eats a lot. He loves his KFC.
“The thing that stood out to me is he was so positive. Even though he was not playing or training, I would go into the room to see him and feel sorry for him, but he was so positive.
“That shows who he is. He kept saying it was just another mountain to climb. That’s his quote. He kept saying that.
“To his credit he did it. I’m so proud and happy for him to come back and play with us. He is a strong person, not only physically but also mentally.”
Kamikamica’s recovery after the delicate spinal surgery was swift.
After initially fearing his 2020 campaign was over, Kamikamica got back on the field for the final three rounds of the regular season as the Storm surged towards the grand final.
But an ankle injury meant he didn’t play any part in Melbourne’s finals campaign which culminated in a premiership win against Penrith in which Kamikamica was 18th man.
Now, he is chasing redemption. Kamikamica, 27, will come off the bench in Saturday night’s blockbuster preliminary final against the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium.
It will be his 55th NRL game since debuting in 2017 and 22nd match in a super consistent season. A spot in the grand final at Suncorp on October 3 is on the line and Kamikamica wants it badly.
“I was so happy the boys did a good job (last year). You want to be part of it but you can only control what you can,” he said.
“I’m so happy I’ve got the chance this year. I’m just grateful now to have this opportunity to play finals footy. I can’t wait to get out there with the boys on Saturday night.
“I haven’t seen (my family in Fiji) for nearly two years now. My youngest sister gave birth to a little girl so I haven’t seen my niece.
“I’m here for a reason – to play footy. As long as I’m out there playing footy and putting a smile on their face, that’s what matters to me. It was two weeks of pain, but you have to go through some tough times to be here now. I’m so happy to be here playing in a prelim.”
Storm’s million-dollar members gift to trump AFL
—Nick Smart
Melbourne Storm has put pressure on its AFL rivals by giving up millions of dollars to provide almost 23,000 of its Victorian members with a free membership for 2022.
The NRL powerhouse — which is just two wins away from clinching back-to-back titles — will lead the way by becoming the first Victorian club to reward its supporters with complimentary memberships for next year.
No Victorian AFL club has yet announced a similar arrangement for its football-starved members.
Storm fans in Victoria have been able to watch their team play at AAMI Park only five times in two years due to Covid.
The club will provide eligible 2020 and 2021 Victorian-based members with a free membership “in recognition of their loyalty and support over the last two seasons.”
“We’ve been thinking of ways to recognise our members and provide them with something to give back for all their support,” Storm chief executive Justin Rodski told the Herald Sun.
“We wanted to make sure it was something significant and meaningful that was going to have an impact on our members and genuinely show them what they mean to us.
“In the end we decided this was the best way to do that.”
I'm sorry WHAT - @storm are giving Victorian members free access to games next year as a thanks for pledging memberships during the 2020 -2021 session while we were locked down. Stunned in the best way possible âš¡ï¸
— Rina (@Savva_M) September 21, 2021
Melbourne Storm are giving the members FREE RENEWALS, for there Victorian members that’s a pretty awesome thing they are doing.
— Mitch Wood (@mitchwood98) September 21, 2021
I am so incredibly proud to be a @storm member
— John Polizzi (@ThePolizz) September 21, 2021
And this right here just... sums up perfectly the type of club they are.
Perfect on and off the field.
I love this club. This means so much to me, and all the other members.
Thank you. #nrl#RugbyLeague#MelbourneStormhttps://t.co/eOpxlQrzSZ
Great message to get from @storm about our membership next year. Really makes you feel like they value the members. Thanks @storm glad I have been paid up since year 1
— Stephen Duggan 💉💉 (@tigerstormraces) September 21, 2021
The financial cost of Storm’s generous gesture next year is understood to be in the millions, although Rodski said the club was looking at the long term benefits.
“It’s a significant number, but it’s something we look at as an investment into our future and an opportunity to really grow our membership base in the coming years,” he said.
“While there are some challenging financial components to the initiative, we think all of that far outweighs any financial hits we’ll take next year.”
Eligible Storm members will be sent an email this week which will allow them to login to their account and redeem their free membership.
Storm will play Penrith on Saturday at 4pm for a spot in next Sunday’s NRL grand final, and Rodski said the club could not wait to welcome fans back to AAMI Park in 2022.
“We’re really confident for next year when you look at the road map now,” he said.
“Hopefully for Round 1 at AAMI Park next year we’ll be at full capacity, and hopefully this initiative will create a great level of buzz and excitement for our members”
Melbourne Storm team news: Foxx is back
– Travis Meyn and Peter Badel
Origin star Josh Addo-Carr will return from injury for Melbourne as the Storm get ready to name a full-strength team for the first time this season.
Addo-Carr has overcome a hamstring strain and will start on the wing in Saturday afternoon’s preliminary final blockbuster against Penrith at Suncorp Stadium.
His return from a three-week lay-off will ensure the Storm have a full complement of players to choose from for the first time this year.
In a remarkable turn of events, the Storm are at 100 per cent fitness for the grand final qualifier against the Panthers.
Addo-Carr’s inclusion for Isaac Lumelume is expected to be the only change to Melbourne’s 17 for the 2020 grand final rematch.
Meanwhile, the Panthers have a number of injury concerns with Viliame Kikau, Brian To’o and Mitch Kenny all battling ankle complaints.
The Panthers are also coming off a tough elimination final win against Parramatta and now have to face a fresh Melbourne team in Brisbane.
STORM V PANTHERS
Saturday 25 September, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 4:00pm
Storm: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen, 2. George Jennings, 3. Reimis Smith, 4. Justin Olam, 5. Josh Addo-Carr, 6. Cameron Munster, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. Jesse Bromwich, 9. Brandon Smith, 10. Christian Welch, 11. Felise Kaufusi, 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane
Bench: 14. Harry Grant, 15. Tui Kamikamica, 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 17. Nicho Hynes
Reserves: 18. Aaron Pene, 19. Tom Eisenhuth, 20. Chris Lewis, 21. Isaac Lumelume
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Stephen Crichton, 3. Paul Momirovski, 4. Matt Burton, 5. Brent Naden, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Moses Leota, 9. Api Koroisau, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Kurt Capewell, 13. Isaah Yeo
Bench: 14. Tyrone May, 15. Scott Sorensen, 16. Tevita Pangai Junior, 17. Liam Martin
Reserves: 18. Izack Tago, 19. Spencer Leniu, 20. J’Maine Hopgood, 21. Brian To’o
The Panthers star Storm fear more than Cleary
Melbourne dynamo Brandon Smith says “concrete head” Brian To’o is the Panther they fear in Saturday night’s preliminary final as he declared the Storm have developed a Roosters-style hatred for Penrith.
The Storm are hellbent on driving the Panthers into the cement for the second consecutive season with matchwinning Melbourne winger Josh Addo-Carr confident of returning from a hamstring injury for the sudden-death showdown at Suncorp Stadium.
The Panthers have injury concerns of their own, with Addo-Carr’s NSW Origin wing cohort To’o racing the clock to prove his fitness after missing Penrith’s 8-6 disposal of Parramatta on Saturday night with an ankle injury.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary is also sweating on scan results for Viliame Kikau and Mitch Kenny, who both suffered ankle setbacks in the Eels finals slugfest.
The Panthers remain hopeful To’o will get the green light and Storm hooker Smith concedes the prospect of the Penrith metre-eater returning could spell trouble for the reigning NRL premiers.
“I’m scared of Brian To’o,” Smith said.
“He is so strong. His head is like concrete, it honestly is.
“He runs at you 30 times a game and he can move laterally. I wish I could move like him.
“I have tackled him (To’o) in the head accidentally and my shoulder was sore.
“His head is deadset concrete. He just cops so many hits and I always wonder how he just gets up.
“To’o isn’t a guy who talks smack on the field, he just plays football and does his job. He is very respectful, so he is one guy we have to watch this week.”
Smith admits the Storm have a grudging respect for the Panthers after beating them 26-20 in last year’s grand final.
“We hate them because they are so good,” he said.
“You have to respect good clubs, especially Penrith.
“They are similar to the Roosters, we hate them but you have to love the way they carry themselves on the rugby league field, and Penrith is much the same.
“Penrith have been the benchmark team for the last two years.
“It’s always Craig (Bellamy, Storm coach’s) goal to be the best defensive team in the comp and Penrith have taken that away from us.
“It does hurt because we put a lot of effort in our training and we would love to win the battle against them.”
To’o has been a kick-returning cyclone for the Panthers this season, amassing 118 tackle busts and a staggering 4706 running metres at an average of 247m per game.
They are numbers not seen since Cowboys hulk Jason Taumalolo inspired North Queensland’s fairytale grand-final charge without Johnathan Thurston in 2017 and the Storm are wary of To’o’s importance to Penrith’s yardage out of their own half.
“His emergence has been crazy the last few years,” Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen said of To’o.
“He will come in fresh and cause a ruckus coming off his goal line.
“We will do a lot of video on him and just be alert, Penrith have a lot of good players so we can’t just narrow it down to one guy.”
Addo-Carr suffered the hamstring strain in Melbourne’s 22-10 loss to Parramatta in Round 24 and hasn’t played since.
With 23 tries in 21 games this season, his return out wide will be a major boost for the Storm against Penrith.
“It’s sweet as, bra,” Addo-Carr said when asked how his hamstring was tracking.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to get back and it’s been good so far.
“You’ve got to start (running) at 60-70 per cent. It’s been three weeks now. I’ve got up to 90-95 per cent.
“The physio reckons it’s in a good place.
“I’ve done the exact same injury in 2017 or 18. It felt the same. I felt a little sharp pain in my hamstring and didn’t think too much of it.”
Why Storm love playing the villain
Queensland Origin whiz Cameron Munster believes the NRL fraternity is sick of Melbourne winning premierships and will be “death-riding” the Storm in Saturday night’s grand-final qualifier against the Panthers.
And Munster has turned up the heat on the Panthers ahead of the sudden-death showdown at Suncorp Stadium, claiming the Storm have been the best team this year and “deserve” to win their third title in five seasons.
Melbourne’s famed siege mentality is in overdrive with Munster revealing the Storm’s motivation to win back-to-back titles is fuelled by external jealousy over their incessant success as the best NRL club of the past two decades.
Should the Storm put Penrith to the sword this week, they would qualify for their ninth grand final in 15 years.
Underlining Melbourne’s brilliance, Craig Bellamy’s troops are chasing the club’s fifth decider in six seasons – and their first back-to-back premierships since the Storm’s inception in 1998.
The Storm have attracted their share of critics over their wrestling antics and the infamous 2010 salary-cap scandal and Maroons ace Munster believes thousands of rugby league fans would love to see Penrith send Melbourne crashing out of the 2021 title race.
“I know everyone is death-riding us to lose this week,” Munster said.
“We’ve been so successful for so long and there will be a lot of punters and fans from different clubs who would love for us to lose to Penrith and get knocked out.
“The number of people who want us to win the comp is probably one in a thousand.
“There’s critics out there who would want us to lose because of the premierships we have won and all the success we’ve had with the Big Three (Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk).
“There is no doubt in my mind a lot of people in the game will be death-riding us, but that is motivation to send Josh Addo-Carr, Dale Finucane and Nicho (Hynes) out as winners with a premiership.”
Ivan Cleary’s Panthers are under pressure to clinch a breakthrough premiership alive after their shock loss to Souths in the opening week of the finals was followed by a grinding 8-6 defeat of the Eels on Saturday night in Mackay.
There is a feeling Penrith have gone off the boil at the worst time and Munster is primed to drive another nail in their premiership coffin – just as Melbourne did in last year’s grand final.
“It would be nice to get to the grand final again,” he said.
“No disrespect to anyone, but we have been the best team all year and we deserve to be in the grand final.
“But no-one will give us anything. We have to work hard this week against Penrith because their best footy and our best footy isn’t too far apart.
“We won last year, but I know the hunger is still there to do it again.
“Everyone said it would be a Penrith-Storm grand final this year, but that’s not going to be the case and we want to be the team still standing.
“One of us won’t be there next week and I’m confident we can get the job done.”
Munster’s Storm teammate Ryan Papenhuyzen said a driving force for Melbourne was their shock 22-10 loss to the Eels in round 24.
It broke a record-equalling 19-match winning streak and Papenhuyzen likened the Parramatta upset to a death in the family.
“We experienced our pain in the loss to Parra to be honest, it was nearly like someone passed away in that week after the game,” he said.
“Every time we have a loss, everyone takes it personally and I like that about the club.
“That loss put us in good stead. We addressed things that we didn’t address in the 19-game winning streak and it was just a freshen-up to clear up our roles and how we want to play as a team.
“We saw the Roosters go back-to-back (in 2018-19), so it’s not impossible.
“If we win two more games, hopefully that’s good enough to get another premiership.”
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