New recruit Tom Jenkins says he felt like “a little kid going to school” when he started pre-season training with the Knights, but he’s going to have to graduate quickly with plenty of competition to replace try-scoring machine Dom Young on the right wing next year.
The English giant scored a staggering 25 tries in 25 games for Newcastle last season, but Jenkins does arrive in the Hunter boasting an identical strike rate, albeit from a smaller sample size.
The former Panther scored five tries from five NRL games this year and added another 14 in reserve grade, where he has dominated while watching the more established stars win three titles in three years.
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The lack of spots is one of the reasons the 22-year-old has headed north, but he accepts that it’s far from a given that he’ll replace Young – now at the Roosters – with Enari Tuala and Krystian Mapapalangi also in the mix to join Greg Marzhew on the flanks.
“(The wing spot) is definitely a carrot, but there’s so much competition here,” Jenkins said.
“You’ve got boys like Enari and ‘Maps’, so there’s a high level of competition and I love that, and I know the other boys do as well.
“I’m not coming here saying ‘that spot’s mine’ because nothing’s yours until you earn it.
“We’re all keen to earn it and that’s going to push us to be better.
“It all comes down to reliability, and if you’re going to get that 50-50 shot of scoring a try, I like to think that I can do it more times than not, and that’s a big focus playing on the wing.
“You’re usually the last one that’s going to touch it when scoring in the corner situation, so I hope that bringing (my skills) into it is a big part.
“There are so many other things like yardage carries, being good defensively and helping out your mates, and that’s a big part of (winning the wing spot).”
Jenkins has come through a system where success is almost expected, but he joins a club that’s on the rise and keen to build on their incredible finish to the 2023 season when they won 10 on the trot before the Warriors knocked them out.
“The last 10 games shows the type of club it is and where the club’s headed and the direction (they’re going in),” he said.
“I couldn’t wait to be a part of that kind of thing.
“For me and my family, I think this was the best option, for sure.
“It’s clear that something special is building, and I’m so keen to be a part of that.”
Playing alongside Dally M Medal winner Kalyn Ponga, veteran Dane Gagai and a world-class forward pack was a huge incentive for Jenkins to join the Knights, and there’s an expectation from some in the region that he can bring the winning edge from the Panthers system that can take Newcastle to the next level.
But that’s not something he’s buying into, with Jenkins comparing Newcastle’s pre-season to the ones he went through in Sydney’s west.
“You don’t really know what it’s like until you’re there, and I personally wasn’t in the full-on scene of it, but I’ve been around it and I understand it,” he said of Penrith’s culture.
“I think holding that high standard for a prolonged period that’s not one day here or one day there, doing that is something I can bring to the table.
“But the standards here are just as high as they were at Penrith so it’s easy to hold them up there when it’s already there.
“I’m not a person that’s going to be dragging them up when the boys are already setting them – I just need to keep them up there.”
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