Spencer Leniu, the Sydney Roosters prop, is preparing for what he believes will be his last game with the club after winning a fourth premiership ring on Sunday night. During the celebrations, Leniu shared personal insights about the challenges and triumphs of his time at the Roosters, including overcoming a racism controversy earlier this year. Despite having one more year left on his contract, Leniu is expected to join Parramatta next season. He expressed deep gratitude towards the club for supporting him during tough times and celebrated by taking a knee alone on the field post-game as a ritual to give thanks to God.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Spencer Leniu, a polarizing player for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, reflected on his time with the club after winning his fourth premiership ring. Leniu's family quickly packed three of his existing rings from his previous championships as he accepted his newest one following the 19-18 victory over Newcastle in the grand final on Sunday night. Despite having a year left on his contract, Leniu is expected to move to Parramatta next season. He mentioned packing his boots and pompoms for what could be his last game with the Roosters, expressing gratitude towards the club for their support during challenging times, including a racism row involving Brisbane's Ezra Mam earlier in 2024. On stage, Leniu held up his four rings and expressed pride and appreciation for his achievements at the Roosters, emphasizing that winning this premiership felt more special than his previous three with the Penrith Panthers.
Written for “NRL Finals Match Leniu's Kit” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Spencer Leniu’s family packed the three premiership rings that were twinkling away on his left hand within minutes of adding a fourth on Sunday night.
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that → pack → night
The polarising Roosters prop told coach Trent Robinson that “I was packing my boots and my pompoms” for what he accepts is most likely his last game for the club.
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he → tell → club
Leniu proved himself a genuine game-breaker off the Tricolours bench in their 19-18 triumph over Newcastle.
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himself → prove → Newcastle
He rates his fourth title as “a bit more special” after a trio of Panthers premierships given the dramas of his three-year stint at the Roosters, most notably the racism row involving Brisbane’s Ezra Mam at the start of 2024.
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He → rat → 2024
The 26-year-old enforcer has a year left on his contract at the club but is set to link with Parramatta.
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enforcer → have → Parramatta
He spoke with an air of finality, as well as warmth for the Roosters and pride in his achievements as he took to the presentation stage, brandishing his quartet of premiership rings and delivering some choice words to the cameras.
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he → speak → cameras
“I’m forever indebted to this club; it tells you who your true friends are when you’re at your lowest point,” Leniu said.
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Leniu → ’m → point
“I was obviously at my lowest point here at the Roosters at one point of my career, and they stuck by me.
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they → stick → me
“I think this [premiership] is a bit more special to me because I came to this club [when it was] in a sort of rebuild phase.
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it → think → phase
“It didn’t work out exactly how everyone planned it … but at the end of the day, we got a premiership.
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we → work → premiership
It’s such a special club, and I would encourage anyone who’s wanting to come here to come experience it because it’s second to none.”
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it → ’ → none
Leniu was the last Rooster to leave the Accor Stadium turf for the dressing rooms on Sunday night, and he spent several minutes taking a knee by himself on the halfway line as cleaners went to work around him clearing away red, white and blue streamers.
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cleaners → leave → streamers
The Samoan international eventually pointed to the sky and joined his teammates in the sheds and explained that he was fulfilling his regular post-game ritual.
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he → point → ritual
“I definitely felt God’s presence today, and I had to give all that glory back to him,” he said.
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he → feel → him
Leniu also confirmed that his family “always bring my premiership rings in case there’s a win”.
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family → confirm → case
So the three mementos from his time at Penrith were slipped straight on as he also caught up with his old Panthers teammates Stephen Crichton, Jarome Luai and Brian To’o in the stands.
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he → slip → stands
His preparation for the decider was anything but ordinary though given he had watched the entire grand final qualifier as an unused bench replacement.
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he → give → replacement
Robinson lauded Leniu’s response to that uncomfortable scenario after defeating the Dolphins.
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Robinson → laud → Dolphins
The four-time premiership-winning coach was again full of praise for Leniu’s 25-minute stint that featured 93-line-bending metres and several heavy shots in defence.
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that → win → defence
“I was definitely a little bit bitter in the sense that I would have loved to feel like I’ve earned my job and earned my way into this grand final week,” Leniu said.
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Leniu → love → week
“I didn’t get that opportunity, but I learned early in my career that egos are a really bad thing in this game, so I just put that ego aside.
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I → get → ego
“I told Robbotoo, I’ll pack my boots or I’ll pack my pompoms … then when Robbo told me I was going to play I was just like ‘f--- I just gotta send it.
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I → tell → it
I gotta give everything, empty the tank’
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“Having that feeling last week, I never want to feel that again.
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I thought I had to just put everything out there.
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I → think → everything
“It gives you a lot of confidence having Gus [Crichton] and Nat Butcher sitting on the bench, we called it the bomb squad.
“When we found out that we were going to come on together it was just like ‘there’s no excuses why we can’t impact the game with us three players coming in’, and I think we did a tremendous job.”
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we → give → job
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News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Friday.
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