Long before he became a star and a premiership winner with the Panthers, Sunia Turuva’s first memory of Penrith Park was visiting as a kid to watch his older cousin run around.
“My first memory here… I came to watch Api (Koroisau) when he was playing for Manly,” Turuva told the Weekender.
Now the 22-year-old will be a part of some unique history himself when he plays in the Panthers’ final ever home game at Penrith Park this Saturday night.
While it will be an emotional occasion for the thousands of Panthers supporters in the stands and on the hills, the players on the field will be soaking it all in as well.
“We love our hometown. We love Penrith. The boys love playing at home,” Turuva said.
“It had been playing on the boys’ minds whether we’d be playing at home during the first week of Finals. Hopefully we get the win this weekend and play there again next week.”
The Footy Gods were well and truly smiling on the defending Premiers last weekend.
The Panthers entered Round 26 in the unfamiliar position of fourth before rounding out the weekend in second place.
Penrith’s mission on Saturday is to knock-off the lowly Gold Coast Titans and, if they do so as expected, they’ll return to the stadium the following week to take on either the Sydney Roosters or Cronulla.
Turuva said he was following the NRL’s wild weekend of results with close interest.
“I was thinking when the Raiders beat us, that they’d beat us and then end up losing [to the Roosters] but they ended up beating the Roosters as well,” he said.
“Once I saw we were back in second, I was cheering.”
The Fijian speedster, who will join his cousin at the Wests Tigers next year, returned to Penrith’s line-up last Friday night against the Rabbitohs after being dropped to NSW Cup the week prior.
Turuva said he knew the writing was on the wall after some tough conversations with coach Ivan Cleary throughout the year.
“Nah it didn’t take me by surprise [being dropped],” he said.
“I’ve leaked a few too many tries this year and my defence wasn’t up to scratch the last six to eight weeks, so going back to Cup was good for me as it allowed me to refresh and reset.
“We’ve had a few tough convos this year, me and Iv. He’s been telling me that I haven’t been up to the standard that I know that I am capable of. So, he told me to go back to Cup, work on my game and it was good to see it come out on Friday.”
Turuva’s lightning speed, strong carries and ability to finish off tries will be a huge asset to the Panthers and their four-peat aspirations. The 2023 Dally M Rookie of the Year is hoping he can deliver Penrith one last premiership before his time here is up.
“Penrith has been home for the last four to five years,” Turuva said.
“What this club has done for me, I can’t thank them enough. Even when I leave, this place will hold a special place in my heart.
“What they’ve been able to do for me in the past with family stuff, I can’t thank them enough.”
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.