‘I’d love nothing more’: Liam Henry locked in two-way battle for starting spot as Penrith prepare for life after James Fisher-Harris

Liam Henry spent last year soaking up all he could from James Fisher-Harris. Now he has the chance to replace his mentor in the front row.

Panthers young gun Liam Henry says he’d “love nothing more” than to force his way into the starting side this season, but he acknowledges it’s going to take a lot of hard work to replace the “massive shoes” left by James Fisher-Harris, who is now at the Warriors.

While Fisher-Harris didn’t boast some of the eye-catching stats of his rivals, the fearless prop was one of the key pillars in Penrith’s four-straight titles, with the Kiwis captain deservedly winning the Golden Boot Award in 2023.

He and Moses Leota bullied teams as Penrith’s bruising Bash Brothers, but there’s now a hole to fill in the middle with Liam Henry and Kangaroos rookie Lindsay Smith fighting it out to start in the front row.

Liam Henry and Lindsay Smith will battle it out for a starting spot in the front row. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“Fish is a massive loss for us. He’s someone I try to model my game a bit off and I was under his wing there for a while,” Henry said.

“Between him and Moses, I was trying to be a sponge and soak it all up.

“There’s a spot available there now, but for me, I’m just focusing on trying to get better.

“That’s the goal (to start) and I’d love nothing more, but I want to get a bit of consistent footy happening and focus one game at a time, so I don’t worry too much about anything else.”

Smith looms as the obvious replacement given he’s more experienced and represented Australia in the Pacific Championships final, but coach Ivan Cleary loves what he brings off the bench and could be tempted to keep him there.

Henry, 23, started four games last season – three of those in the second row – and would love to challenge himself from the opening whistle in 2025.

The Blayney Bears junior made a remarkable 69 tackles in his first start against the Dragons and was a ball of energy whenever he came off the bench last season.

It’s a role he enjoys and one he’s happy to keep doing if it’s best for the team.

Liam Henry gets his own four-pointer 🤩

📊 https://t.co/wf9Rv7Ik7X#pantherpride 🐾#NRLSharksPanthers#NRLIndigenousRoundpic.twitter.com/0HDs8KPowp

— Penrith Panthers 🏆🏆🏆🏆 (@PenrithPanthers) May 25, 2024

“When you’re on the bench, you’ve got to save your energy for when you’re out there,” he said.

“Getting up for the start of games last year was something else. It was an awesome experience and I loved it.

“You want to start fast and strong for the boys. I’ll learn from those experiences (last year) but I absolutely loved it.”

Henry says last year’s grand final is still a blur whenever he thinks about it, but the premiership winner knows he has to move on from it as the club pushes for more glory in 2025.

“I still pinch myself. I’m very, very lucky,” he said.

“Now that it’s sunk in, you take a few weeks to realise what’s happened. Just being a part of the group is something else.

“I’m so lucky to be around the boys that we have here in Penrith.”

Originally published as ‘I’d love nothing more’: Liam Henry locked in two-way battle for starting spot as Penrith prepare for life after James Fisher-Harris