Penrith centre Izack Tago admits he’s had a rollercoaster year for a variety of reasons, but he’s hoping a recent turn in form will see him in the fight for his third premiership come September.
The 22-year-old kicked off the year with a bang, signing a lucrative contract extension with the Panthers until the end of 2028 before scoring a hattrick of tries in his opening three matches.
But things would start to get wobbly for the St Marys junior as the players around him were being tested with injuries, like halfback Nathan Cleary.
This – along with the off-field drama surrounding his close mate Taylan May – took a toll on Tago and his form started to slip.
Unlike Tigers-bound winger Sunia Turuva, who has been rested or dropped three times this year, Tago has remained in Ivan Cleary’s line-up and will notch up his 21st game of the season this Saturday afternoon against the out-of-form Raiders in Canberra.
Speaking with the Weekender on Monday, Tago admitted it’s been a tough year despite the side sitting up the top of the table.
“There’s been ups and downs and we’ve had lots of new combinations throughout the season,” he said.
“Clez being injured too. Sort of every time we find our feet there’s a change, something happens… someone has a niggle.
“That’s just the game but, over these new few weeks, we’ll be looking to dial in.”
As touched on earlier, Tago has survived the axe and a stint in NSW Cup despite his defence and discipline being questionable at times. When on the same side as Turuva, the pair struggled together, which has prompted coach Cleary to mix up his combinations in recent weeks.
Tago, who is currently sixth in the NRL for penalties conceded with 17, said he doesn’t blame his coach for making the tough calls when it comes to dropping players.
“I don’t know, it’s a hard job for coach,” he said.
“We have a lot of good backs, so I think everyone is fighting for a spot and doing their best trying to play good each week.”
When Cleary returned from his second hamstring injury against the Dolphins in Round 20, Tago’s performances started to pick up again and, over the last three weeks, he’s found the stripe on four occasions.
However, with the two-time Clive Churchill medallist sidelined once again, this time with a reoccurring shoulder injury, Tago is hopeful he can continue to play well without him.
“He’s the best at what he does – most of the tries that I score are off the back of what he’s doing,” Tago said of Cleary.
“It’s always good to play with him, but it will be no different these next few weeks coming.
“We’ve got heaps of good young halves coming in as we’ve seen throughout the year. They’ve all done a job, and I think it will be no different.”
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.