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Paul Alamoti was preparing for his HSC when the Panthers won the 2021 premiership. Three years later he scored the try that would seal the club’s historic four-peat.
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Alamoti’s last 18 months have been a complete whirlwind with the 21-year-old admitting to foxsports.com.au that what he’s achieved since joining the Panthers has wildly exceeded his expectations.
He went from searching for a new club in the back end of 2023 to signing with the defending premiers, winning a premiership ring of his own, making his international debut and putting pen to paper on a new deal.
Alamoti will kick-off his third season in the NRL under the bright lights of Las Vegas when the Panthers take on the Sharks at Allegiant Stadium next week.
But before he dives into that — and begins operation five-peat — the promising centre ensured he took some time to reflect on his achievements.
“My headspace was just ‘I’m going to go to Penrith with the attitude of wanting to learn, challenge myself and see basically where I’m at as a player’,” he told foxsports.com.au.
“Then 12 months later I was able to tick off boxes that every kid pretty much dreams of their whole life.
“I actually had a bit of time in my off-season to sit down on my own and just look back, reflect and see how far I’ve come. This was exactly what I dreamt of… so to actually live it out, it’s pretty special.
“I think 2020 I was in year 11 and I was watching the grand final. Then in 2021 I was in year 12 and I was watching these boys win their first premiership.
“So ever since the dynasty kind of started I’ve just admired the way they play and the way they go about their business.
“And then to be actually in it now… it’s very surreal.”
Paul Alamoti and Liam Henry celebrate with the Provan-Summons Trophy after winning the 2024 NRL Grand Final match. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesTo celebrate Fox League being the only place to watch all 4 games of Rugby League in Vegas live, Kayo Sports is giving away a trip of a lifetime to Sin City! Enter now at kayogreencard.com
Sitting near the top of Alamoti’s list of core memories is his try in the 2024 Grand Final.
The Panthers were up 10-6 with 20 minutes to go when Alamoti — who had shifted to the wing due to Brian To’o’s injury — scored in the corner to seal the premiership.
“This actually gives me goosebumps,” Alamoti said when asked revisit the moment.
“A fair few people have actually asked me and every single time they’ve asked me I just get a little rush in my body.
“It’s everything I’ve ever dreamt of but just never knew it’d come so early in life. I didn’t think 12 months ago that I’d be playing in a grand final and then to score a try in the corner…
“In the moment, I was actually knackered, I was wrecked. But then the ball ended up in my hands and all of a sudden I feel everything just left my body, like all the tiredness, or everything that was running through my body just left me and I just had eyes for the tryline.
“The feeling is indescribable. I can’t really explain it, but just felt like I was on top of the world.”
A desperate Ryan Papenhuyzen, Xavier Coates and Cameron Munster couldn’t stop Alamoti as he made a mad dash for the line. He fist-pumped the air and walked towards the roaring crowd before he was swarmed by his teammates.
It was his own personal vindication for what had happened a year earlier — when he was let go by the Bulldogs.
Paul Alamoti celebrates after scoring a try during the Grand Final. (Photo by Izhar KHAN / AFP) /Source: AFPMORE NRL NEWS
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Alamoti was an exciting prospect while coming through the ranks at the Dogs. In fact his debut in Round 1 of the 2023 season was one of the most anticipated debuts for the club’s fanbase in a long time.
He had a blistering start to his NRL career but later hit some speed humps.
He was dropped to New South Wales Cup at the back end of his rookie season and then later found out that he wasn’t a part of the Bulldogs’ future plans.
Alamoti admitted that was “definitely a scary time” of his young career given he had never been in that position before.
“Towards the back end of 2023 it was kind of the first time that I’ve ever experienced something like that, just playing for a contract and playing for a future,” he said.
So when the Panthers of all clubs came knocking, what did Alamoti, who was just 19 at the time, think?
“I was actually pretty shocked,” he laughed.
“I think it was one week into my off-season… obviously pretty nervous with just the fear of the unknown, not knowing where I was going to end up.
“I was lucky enough Penrith came along and I said to my manager ‘I’ll sit down straight away’. Things happened pretty fast after that.”
Alamoti met with coach Ivan Cleary — and even by this stage it still hadn’t sunk in that the powerhouse club of the NRL wanted him.
“Honestly, I didn’t talk much, I was just so shocked I was sitting down in front of Ivan — I think at the time he was a two-time premiership winner and then they were a couple of weeks out from their third,” he said.
“I was just sitting there trying to just soak up being in the moment.”
What Alamoti might not know is that the shock was mutual because Cleary couldn’t believe that a player of his calibre was on the hunt for a club.
“When the opportunity came up for me to meet him, I was shocked he was off-contract because I had seen him come through the grades and then play first grade at 19 at the Dogs,” Cleary said during the live stream of last year’s Merv Cartwright Medal.
“I met him and thought ‘this is too good to be true… there must be something wrong with him’. He came in and we re-signed him (on a one-year extension) quickly because I thought he probably needs another pre-season but he just got better and better.
“When we lost Taylan May we were in a bit of a pickle but he just came in and got better and better. His last two games were his best of the season.
“Even just the way he moved from the centres to the wing… to score the try… the incredible catch — so good. There’s something special about Pauly and he’s fit in with us really well.”
It’s easy to understand why the Panthers moved quickly after the grand final to lock Alamoti in for a further two years.
And for Alamoti, it was obviously a “no-brainer” to re-sign with the club he experienced more success with in one year than what many players work tirelessly towards for a decade.
“The club gave me an opportunity 12 months ago, I wanted to come here with the mindset of changing myself and I had the same mindset again, with the view that I wanted to sign a new contract for the next couple of years,” he said.
“I just want to keep growing, bouncing off the players that I have around me who have been to the highest level like State of Origins, multiple Grand Finals and just NRL week-in, week-out.”
