After more than a year away from media appearances, Spencer Leniu has fronted questions for the first time, shutting down speculation surrounding his future with the Sydney Roosters and declaring his loyalty to the Bondi club.
Noise around the damaging prop’s future at the tri-colours had intensified in recent weeks following limited game time, with reports suggesting Leniu could be weighing up his options elsewhere.
But the 24-year-old made his stance clear earlier this week, posting a photo of himself in a Roosters jersey to Instagram alongside the caption: “Love this club. Love my brothers. Stay the course.”
Speaking to the media on Friday, Leniu admitted public appearances are far outside his comfort zone.
“Public speaking in general, I’m not the biggest fan of,” the prop said on Friday.
“I’ll take any back fence carry (rather) than speaking to people in public. But it’s part of our duty, we’ve just got to do it.”
Leniu also addressed the rumours directly, admitting questions over his loyalty had struck a nerve.
“When people test my integrity and my loyalty to this club, it sort of makes me a bit angry, to be honest,” Leniu said.
“I hold myself to high standards in terms of integrity and loyalty. To all the Roosters fans, I’m here to stay. We’ve got a good thing going.”
The former Penrith Panthers premiership winner was also candid about his form, conceding his performances had not been where he wanted them to be.
“To be honest, I just haven’t been performing at my best. That’s probably the reason why I haven’t been getting the minutes that I’ve been wanting,” he said.
“At the end of the day, I’ve just got to perform better, and I felt like last week was a good step in the right direction.”
Despite previously featuring in the Origin arena, Leniu ruled himself out of contention for the upcoming State of Origin series, saying form should determine selection.
“I don’t think I should be in any conversations, making that Blues team,” said Leniu.
“Just Origin alone, I just respect the game so much. I feel like we need to pick our side on form, and I think, as I said, my performances haven’t been up to scratch. All I want to see is NSW succeed.
“I don’t think I’m in any contention to make that side.”
Instead, Leniu backed Roosters teammates Victor Radley and Terrell May to earn representative honours.
“If anything, I hope ‘Rads’ gets a call. I just know Radley epitomises everything they say Origin is about,” Leniu said.
“Hopefully, Terrell gets a call too.”
“I’m just obsessed with this game: the good, the bad, the boos and the cheers,” he said.
“They all give me confidence and rile me up.”
After months of speculation and scrutiny surrounding both his form and future, Leniu’s message was clear, he remains fully committed to the Roosters and focused on rediscovering the explosive form that made him one of the NRL’s most feared forwards.
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