Penrith halfback Luke Walsh didn’t panic when dumped to the NSW Cup a few weeks ago.
After all, he’d been on this ride before.
Having burst onto the scene in the post-Andrew Johns era at Newcastle in 2007, Walsh found himself just as quickly consigned to the NRL scrapheap.
He wasn’t sighted in the NRL all of 2008 and for the first few months of 2009, before finally being offered a lifeline at Penrith, where he has had a mortgage on the No.7 jumper ever since.
That was until the Panthers’ poor start to this campaign, with Walsh dumped to the Windsor Wolves for the round five loss to North Queensland.
“It was hard at the time when I got the news, but I accepted it and just moved on,” Walsh told AAP.
“As soon as I got dropped I knew what I had to do.
“I went back to Windsor, I thought I played really well there.
“I got a lot of confidence out of that, enjoyed myself, I knew I’d get straight back up.
“I think it was the kick in the backside that I needed.
“I’d been through it all before, up in Newcastle I didn’t play a game in 2008.
“I knew what to expect.”
It’s fair to say Walsh didn’t dwell on the disappointment of getting dropped.
While an injury to Blake Austin provided an opportunity for an immediate recall, Walsh has returned to the top grade a far more confident player than the one he was during the opening rounds.
That confidence only grew against Parramatta on Monday night, when an early 40-20 provided the impetus for a dominant display in the 44-12 win.
“It’s the best game he’s had this year,” coach Ivan Cleary said of Walsh, who had three try assists.
“I’m really happy for him. It makes the whole team go better when he can put in a performance like that.
“Hopefully that builds a bit of momentum for him.”
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