Panthers winger Josh Mansour believes Penrith’s young team of rising stars has what it takes to challenge for a premiership… this year.
The Panthers are currently one of the NRL’s in-form teams, having won five of their last six games.
The game they lost in the stint of victories was a golden point nail-biter against the New Zealand Warriors.
Last weekend they all but assured themselves of a spot in the 2016 finals with a 40-10 thrashing of the Wests Tigers.
Speaking with Extra Time this week, an upbeat and rather confident Mansour said Penrith isn’t just in the top eight to make up the numbers.
“We can do anything, honestly. I have 100 per cent faith in this squad,” he said.
“The belief I have in this side, I believe on our day we can beat any NRL team – I say that with full confidence.”
Mansour’s strong endorsement will be music to the ears of Penrith supporters, who all season have dreamed of playing finals footy in September.
How far the Panthers can go into the finals is a question that the Blues State of Origin winger was more than happy to answer.
“We’ve got a young side but it’s a side that’s very enthusiastic – they are always eager to prove a point,” Mansour said.
“When we last made the finals in 2014 we were under a lot of adversity… but that gave us motivation to play as a team every week.
“This team isn’t much different; we have a lot of young guys who want to prove themselves in the NRL.”
2016 has been an enormous year for the powerhouse winger, who in June made his long-awaited Origin debut before re-signing with the Panthers for a further two years.
Next month, Mansour should also get to play finals footy for the second time in his career and, later this year, he’ll wed his beautiful partner Daniella Toutounji.
“This year has gone so fast but I can’t complain to be honest, I’m definitely not taking the blessings for granted,” Mansour said.
“Re-signing with this club for a further two years was probably one of the most important things for me. I love being here, we have a great team, coaching staff and Board – everyone pushes to be their best here, which I love.”
After a turbulent 2015 that involved a disrupted pre-season and just 12 games played due to various injuries, Mansour is grateful for his opportunities this year.
“Looking back on last year I had an injury plagued run and I knew I wanted to have a big pre-season, especially under a new coach,” he said.
“I’m very grateful for what this year has presented.”
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.