Flogging the Warriors might not be everyone's idea of a good time, but it was a slice of heaven for Penrith Panthers debutant Sam McKendry. The 18-year-old enjoyed his part in the Panthers' big 46-22 victory at Penrith's CUA Stadium, but said it was just the luck of the draw thatsaw him taking part in the destruction of his former favourite NRL team. "Coming up against Ruben Wiki and the Warriors in my first NRL game was a bit weird, they've always been a team I've followed, but now Penrith are my team," he said. The former Dargaville prop, who left New Zealand to take up a contract at Penrith at the beginning of last year, took the field to start the match rather than starting off the bench. The move to start with the debutant surprised many, but Panthers coach Matthew Elliot told him he would probably be in the starting line-up "I'm not sure, but I think the idea was to get me out there early, so nerves wouldn't be an issue," McKendry said. It must have worked because, by the time kickoff had come around, McKendry was all concentration and defended solidly, making 10 tackles and six hit-ups during his two spells on the field. He played the opening 15 minutes of the match before returning to the field for 10 minutes in the final quarter, when the result of the match was already beyond the Warriors. "I thought they were going to be a bit tougher than that - they were off the pace and we were just too good for them," he said. The Penrith team found it easy to get motivated for the match, McKendry said. The need to overcome a poor start to the season was foremost in their minds, coupled with the desire to celebrate Luke Priddis' 150th NRL game landmark with a win, he said. Far from feeling homesick, McKendry is settling into Aussie life well: "There are heaps of Polynesians here, it's just like home".
