Liam Henry poised to become Penrith’s new boom-box boss

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Liam Henry poised to become Penrith’s new *****-box boss

Sunia Turuva has tipped Liam Henry to become the unlikely custodian of Penrith’s famous ***** box once he and Jarome Luai join Wests Tigers.

The Panthers’ JBL PartyBox has become a fixture of training sessions, pre-game pump-ups and full-time celebrations since coach Ivan Cleary lifted a *****-box ban imposed by gruff predecessor Anthony Griffin.

In five years of dominance since, the speaker and its diverse repertoire of music have been particularly synonymous with five-eighth Luai, who appointed himself “chief energy officer” en route to the 2020 NRL grand final.

These days, Turuva has assumed that mantle and is usually the one to take charge of the speaker on game day.

But with both Luai and Turuva set to depart the Panthers after Sunday’s grand final against Melbourne, the ***** box is in need of a new guardian.

Turuva has tipped the responsibility may fall to prop Henry, but says that will mean less R&B and more Luke Combs around Panthers HQ in 2025.

“You should see when me and ‘Romey’ aren’t around, when me and Romey walk into a room late, he (Henry) is the one connected to the ***** box,” the winger told AAP.

“You wouldn’t believe it but I’m being serious. After our prelim on the weekend, because me and Romey were taking a while (in the sheds), he turned the speaker straight on. It’ll be a ******-up to see if he’s next up.

“He’s just on that country vibe, but the boys love it. If it’s not R&B or reggae around here, it’s pretty much country going around.”

The unbackable favourite for Penrith’s rookie of the year award, Henry has become a staple of Cleary’s bench this season and will play his first grand final on Sunday.

Henry’s parents nicknamed him ‘Smiley” as a toddler and the moniker has stuck, but the upbeat Blayney product is just as prized among teammates for his work ethic.

“He’s the man,” Turuva said.

“He’s just super fit, he can go all day that guy. I’m just excited to see how he’ll go this Sunday.”

Henry baulked at suggestions he was in the frame to usurp Turuva as chief energy officer from 2025.

“I don’t think I can step into his shoes, he’s set the bar pretty high,” Henry told AAP.

“It’s not hard to try to be upbeat when you walk in here every day. It’s a dream job and the boys around us, it’s not work, it’s just fun, so we come in here and have a good time.”

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