Still pinching himself
The arrival of Matt Robinson was a bright light in an otherwise black season for the Penrith Panthers National Rugby League side in 2012. With pre-season under way, Matthew Dallas talked with the former Porirua Viking about making the grade, making it bac
SOME silver linings need to be bigger than others, and at 190 centimetres tall and weighing 95 kilograms, Matt Robinson may just do the trick.
For Penrith Panthers’ players and fans, the grim memory of the 2012 season will take some tempering – a slew of off-field dramas and an 8-16 record that left them second to bottom on the ladder, eight points outside the top eight.
Though there were several losses, the most numbing was arguably the 30-nil drubbing at home by the Wests Tigers on April 15. It was the Panthers’ third defeat in a row and the culmination of three hours of football in which Penrith hadn’t scored a point.
The round 7 encounter also marked the first grade debut of 22-year-old Robinson, a product of the Porirua Vikings and the New Zealand Warriors’ successful Toyota Cup sides of 2009-10.
Despite the shellacking, all he can recall is a sense of euphoria and fatigue.
‘‘I know the adrenalin was pumping. I made about 20 tackles in 20 minutes and was absolutely shattered,’’ he says.
Robinson would go on to make 12 first-grade appearances. All but one were from the interchange, but as his minutes grew so did his confidence. In the final three games of the season he did enough to suggest rookie wing Josh Mansour wasn’t the only hot prospect to be unearthed by the club in 2012.
For Robinson, getting that first game was a major personal achievement.
‘‘It was just my dream to get a start. In those early games, I was slowly introduced. With every game my confidence grew.
‘‘Four or five games in, I got more confident again, then it skyrocketed. Things started to come naturally. It’s just a crazy, surreal feeling to be fulfilling my dream.’’
Growing up in Pauatahanui, Robinson attended Hutt International Boys’ School and played with the Porirua Vikings after switching from rugby union.
‘‘It’s where I learned my trade. I had never played league before, I picked it all up with the Vikings, and I’m very thankful to the people there who helped me.’’
Robinson says he was a very impressionable teenager and found the Wellington league scene quite an eye- opener, including fiery encounters between archrivals Porirua and Wainuiomata.
‘‘I saw a lot of passion on the sideline,’’ he says.
At 17, in his last year at college, he was part of the Vikings’ 2007 premiership-winning side.
Success followed him to the Junior Warriors, which made the National Youth Competition playoffs in 2009 and won the premiership in 2010.
It was the club’s first title, achieved by a team now held in lofty regard, given that more than half have progressed to first grade, including Shaun Johnson and Elijah Taylor.
Robinson says his time with the Junior Warriors was pretty special, fostering many life-long friendships.
The Warriors first grade squad being well-stocked in backrowers in 2011, the former New Zealand under-18 representative struggled to get an opportunity. He signed a one-year deal with the Panthers and, ironically, found himself trying to again impress coach Ivan Cleary, who also left Auckland for a new challenge at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
When Kapi-Mana News spoke with Robinson, the ‘‘ hard slog’’ of pre-season was in full effect; long workouts and high temperatures. However, he was enjoying the many new faces at the club. ‘‘It’s a good group of boys.’’ He got back to Porirua for a week during the off- season, savouring the opportunity to catch-up with family and friends and ‘‘have a look around’’.
Porirua and Penrith have their similarities, he says, both being smaller, quiet cities, about the same distance from metropolitan centres.
‘‘[Penrith’s] nice and relaxing. It has a big Polynesian presence in the suburbs, like home.’’
The round 25 win over the Gold Coast Titans was arguably the best advertisement to date of Robinson’s attacking potential. Menacing defenders on the left edge, he managed a couple of deft offloads, a line-break and a try assist.
Most promising was the budding combination with centre Michael Jennings, the Panthers’ main strike weapon who has often struggled to get quality ball.
The offloads have always been part of his game, says Robinson, it was just a matter of confidence.
‘‘The combo with Jenko, that sort of developed from both of us playing our natural games.
‘‘It’s just crazy what he can do when he’s given early ball and a bit of space.’’
But don’t expect to see Robinson hanging out in the backline, shirking the grunt work.
An 80- minute player in the lower grades, he says he is committed to bringing a workhorse mentality to the Panthers’ pack.
However, the immediate challenge is securing a spot in the top 17 – let alone the starting lineup – for 2013.
The Panthers may have bid farewell to long-serving lock Luke Lewis, but they have recruited heavily.
With Sika Manu, from Melbourne, and Lewis Brown from the Warriors, added to a secondrow roster likely to include Clint Newton, Nigel Plum, Blake Austin, Ryan Simpkins, Nathan Smith and Toyota Cup star Vaipuna Tia-Kilifi, the battle for jerseys will be fierce.
‘‘Competition can only be a good thing,’’ says Robinson, unfazed.
‘‘The challenge is there, I’ve just got to be confident in myself.’’