By Emma Kemp
Spencer Leniu gravitates towards particular genres of music during game week.
“A bit of reggae, a bit of country and stuff like that, nice gospel music,” he said. “I try to listen to some relaxing, cheerful music. I like just to stay cool. It’s easy for me to get into the red, so I need to just chill a little bit before the game.”
The game this time is against Penrith, in Penrith, for the first time since leaving Penrith. There’s a lot on the line for everybody at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night, but the Roosters enforcer might be feeling this NRL qualifying final more than most.
At the very least, it threw up some “mixed emotions early in the week” and prompted him to text another former Panther in Stephen Crichton for guidance.
Leniu spent five formative years with the Panthers, developing his game under the likes of Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris during the club’s three-peat dominance. Since moving east at the start of 2024, though, the 24-year-old has not yet faced his former club, having been suspended for their only regular-season meeting, a 22-16 loss in March.
Now, through quirks of fate and timing, the volatile prop is two days away from finally walking into the away sheds at his old home, then running out onto his old field, with no idea how he will be received.
Old days: Spencer Leniu celebrates a Penrith premiership with Ivan Cleary and Liam MartinCredit: NRL Photos
In truth, whether he is cheered or booed by the old faithful is not the main point of concern.
“I’ve got a lot of love for that community and those people, and I grew up there,” he said. “They’re passionate fans, and they’re entitled to cheer or boo.”
The reggae tunes could come in more handy for the verbals he’ll probably cop from the former teammates who know him better as “fireball”.
“Knowing them, they’ll just do whatever it takes,” Leniu said. “That’s been their mindset every single time coming into finals. And if getting under my skin is part of it, then it is what it is, and I’m just going to go to war. They know me inside out, so they’re probably the one club that’ll know how to get under my skin.
“I think I know what it takes to win games, and I just don’t want to let the boys down, so I’ll do everything in my power to keep my cool. I don’t think we’ll get to an extent where it’ll be over the boundaries – coming up against the boys, there’ll be a lot of love there.”
That tension between love and war extends especially to Jarome Luai, who Leniu expects to get very chirpy.
“He sledges all the boys at training and stuff like that, so I know it’s going to be no different for me come Friday,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of love for him and his little family, and we’ll go to war at each other on Friday and then [I’ll] kiss and hug his family after.”
In a strictly footy sense, Leniu looks back on 2024 as rewarding. Already one of Penrith’s form front-rowers off the bench, his first season with the Roosters has provided the platform for a State of Origin debut and a more important role in Trent Robinson’s forward pack – particularly with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves still suspended.
The downside, of course, was his eight-game suspension for the racial slur directed at Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam during the round one match in Las Vegas.
“It was easy to just be comfortable where I was at, and I grew up there,” he said. “But I chose to come out here and challenge myself, and I felt like I’ve done that this year. I [have] started a few games and played a lot more minutes than I had been at Penrith.”
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