Enforcer’s vow to ‘make it personal’ with ex-teammates

Stand by for fireworks up front when the Roosters take on the Panthers in Friday night’s big finals opener.
That’s the word from my spy in the Roosters camp, who has told me that the volatile Spencer Leniu wants to make it VERY personal when he faces up to Penrith big boppers Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris.
Leniu spent the last five years at Penrith learning his craft under the Panthers powerhouse duo before moving to the Roosters this season.
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And now the 24-year-old Blues Origin forward wants to show who is the new boss of the engine room.
Spencer Leniu will face his old teammates in the first week of finals.  Getty
“Spencer is all fired up going back to Penrith to take on his former mates,” the source said.
“He is going to get in their faces and make it personal – it’s going to be very physical… that’s how he likes it.
“He is going to take the challenge to them.”
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The Roosters are also privately worried about the fitness of star centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who took a heavy shot to the neck late in last weekend’s win over Souths.
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Suaalii was rushed straight to the sheds after the hit and has been undergoing intensive physiotherapy.
But with the game starting the finals on Friday night, he only has a relatively short turnaround to get himself right.
The Knights have parted ways with recruitment manager Adam Doyle, who put together a finals roster yet again for the club, following the signing of the high-profile Peter O’Sullivan to handle their roster.
But Doyle has had nibbles from several rival NRL clubs and is likely to be snapped up in coming weeks.
The recruitment manager is one of the most important jobs in a football club – yet much neglected by many organisations.
O’Sullivan did a great job putting together the Dolphins’ roster from scratch, despite missing many of his primary targets, and Doyle has also worked well at the Knights with a limited budget.
Robbie Farah hasn’t wasted any time moving on to the next chapter of his life after winding up his 20-odd years as a football player and coach.
Less than a week after finishing up as assistant coach of the Tigers, Farah has started a new position as head of partnerships with sports and adventure travel firm TWO4SEVEN.
Farah founded the company a few years ago with Jai Ayoub – son of well-known player manager Sam – but has stepped up to play a far greater role.
Former Tigers assistant Robbie Farah. Nine
He is also working as an ambassador, alongside the great Johnathan Thurston, for investment firm Barclay Pearce.
“TWO4SEVEN do all sorts of travel groups – from the Super Bowl to Formula One to the big European soccer, even African safaris,” Farah told Wide World of Sports.
“Being so involved in football has prevented me from being as hands on as I wanted to be but this is the new me.
“I even plan to go to Las Vegas next year.
“And with the ambassador role, JT and I want to help young players invest their money – too many in the past have just wasted it away.”
Farah admits he hasn’t quite come to terms with his changing life.
“Right now it feels just like another off season,” he said.
“It will probably sink in when the boys all start pre-season training again.”
Brian McDermott has been the quiet achiever behind the Knights’ charge into the finals.
The former English star and British soldier was appointed defensive coordinator at Newcastle last year and is one tough hombre.
Brian McDermott speaks to Sonny Bill Williams during their time at the Toronto Wolfpack.  Getty
They tell me that at training, he says jump and all 17 players say “how high?”.
McDermott certainly made an impression on Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould, who recommended him for the Souths head coach job when Jason Demetriou got sacked a few months ago.
“He is very impressive… I met with him a while back and the reason I took the time to do it was because Andrew Johns told me he’s made a big difference at Newcastle,” Gould said recently.
“He came there last year when they had that big run into the finals. They speak very highly of him at Newcastle.”