Thomas Jenkins never wanted to leave Penrith at the end of the 2023 season, but an opportunity that was promised to him at Newcastle was far too good to pass up for the man they call “Milky”.
“You never want to leave a place like this. Penrith’s always felt like home; they gave me my first opportunity,” the 24-year-old said.
“I didn’t necessarily want to leave but I probably needed to leave, to go away, chase an opportunity and do it for myself, my own development, my own career.”
Jenkins played six games for the Panthers across the dominant 2022 and 2023 NRL seasons. But with Brian To’o and Sunia Turuva having a stronghold on Penrith’s number ‘2’ and ‘5’ jerseys at the time, Jenkins opted to purse a plum gig in the Hunter after then Knights winger Dom Young decided to head down south to join the Roosters.
“When your path is blocked and a side is going for four-in-a-row, I needed to go away to try and crack it and make my own journey,” Jenkins said.
“Going away and doing that is something that I needed to do.”
Following an honest and open chat with Ivan Cleary, it was quickly decided that the best way forward for the Young Cherrypickers junior would be to pursue a career at the two-time Premiership winners.
“Ivan is always open. No matter how hard the conversation is, he’ll always have it with you directly no matter what,” Jenkins said.
“Whether it’s what you want to hear or what you need to hear, and that’s something that I admire and respect so much about him.
“He’s a coach that will tell you exactly what you need to know. He was open and honest. I respected that.
“It was sad in a sense to leave because I didn’t want to leave and he knew that I didn’t want to leave, but he said it was something that I needed to do – to chase an opportunity and to experience it.”
Under coach Adam O’Brien, Jenkins played just five games at the Knights before asking for a release from the second and final year of his contract.
Jenkins said he has no bitterness towards the Newcastle club – it was just simply a case of not the right fit for either party.
“My Newcastle experience was really good. There’s a good bunch of boys up there. There wasn’t any bad blood when I left. It was purely based on what I needed as a person,” he said.
“It wasn’t home sickness. I just didn’t feel myself up there. I always felt drawn back to here. Being around family, enjoying my footy.”
With his NRL career in limbo, Jenkins started working for a disability company as a support worker while at the same time, linking up with St Marys, who compete in the Ron Massey Cup.
Hearing he was back in town, Jenkins then received a call from Penrith NSW Cup coach Ben Harden to see if he would be interested in training at the Panthers Academy in the afternoons.
Nothing was promised by Harden, more of a ‘foot in the door’ type situation.
“Nothing was guaranteed,” Ivan Cleary said.
“Tom and I had a chat before Christmas, and he went back to St Marys first and he was in our afternoon squad here.
“He was very humble about it. He went back there, he trained the house down, and he was probably the fittest guy and played really well.”
Jenkins’ first game back in Penrith colours was against Manly in a pre-season trial match while the main squad was getting acquainted with the bright lights of Las Vegas.
Jenkins was strong in his return game for the Panthers and, just days later, signed a full-time playing contract with the Panthers.
“He was our best player in Cup over the first two rounds,” Cleary admitted.
“I know that he’s capable; he’s a well and truly capable NRL player.
“We’ve got positions in our team at the moment, which are definitely not a lock. There’s a real opportunity for guys to play well – bit of competitive tension – which is always a good thing and Tom’s a good story out of that.”
Jenkins’ redemption story was officially deemed complete last week down in Melbourne when he was tapped on the shoulder by coach Cleary to replace injured representative fullback Dylan Edwards.
After so much uncertainty regarding his career, Jenkins would discover on his 24th birthday of all days that he would be returning to first grade for the Panthers.
“Ivan just said, ‘you’re going to play this week’,” Jenkins recalled of his unique birthday present.
“Ivan just told me to go after it and that I wouldn’t be there if he didn’t have confidence in me.”
Despite being in the unfamiliar position of fullback, Jenkins was one of Penrith’s best players against the Storm and has even earned himself another call up for tonight’s game against South Sydney at Accor Stadium.
Jenkins said he’d love nothing more than to play the rest of the season in first grade, but he knows – from past experiences – that nothing is ever guaranteed when it comes to footy.
“I do like to look forward and I do have goals, and the goal is to play first grade but that’s also the goal of 36 boys in here,” he said.
“I just know that if I play good footy every week, it puts me in good stead to have that opportunity again.”
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.