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How the decision to turn Bulldogs backwards, Panthers whore Api Koroisau transformed from kamikaze ball runner to CHESS MASTER who thrives on the ‘art of cheating’
- Koroisau played one season with Penrith before leaving to join Manly. to play
- He was then courted by the Bulldogs, but chose to go back to the Panthers
- Coach Ivan Cleary turned him into a thinking whore in a premier league team
- Now Koroisau is aiming for a third NRL title before leaving for the Wests Tigers
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A last minute phone call from Ivan Cleary proved to be the ultimate sliding door moment for Penrith hooker Api Koroisau, who has admitted to resigning himself to the Bulldogs on the eve of his third consecutive Grand Final.
The livewire rep hooker had won an NRL grand final with South Sydney, replacing the suspended Isaac Luke before signing for Penrith in his first stint.
He only lasted one season before landing at Manly, where he was on the outside in 2019 and seemingly destined to sign a contract with the basement-dwelling Bulldogs.
Apisai Koroisau of the Panthers runs the ball during the Round 13 NRL game between the Penrith Panthers and Canterbury Bulldogs at BlueBet Stadium
However, he can reveal that it was an 11am phone call from Cleary – who had turned his back on Wests Tigers to return to the foothills – that persuaded him to return to the Panthers.
“It was more or less a part of me going to the Dogs,” Koroisau told the… Daily Telegram.
“They came in at eleven. Penrith didn’t hit me until about two or three weeks after I had those meetings [with the Bulldogs].
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary transformed Koroisau from a battering ram into a thinking whore
‘I met [Ivan Cleary] at his house which is cool because he has a nice house. He asked me about life and I told myself that I am no longer a child. I sat down and was still sassy, but I wasn’t doing the things I used to do.
“The past three years have been ridiculous.”
Tomorrow Koroisau will be lining up for his fourth NRL grand final – his third in a row for Penrith.
When he won a Premiership ring with Souths, playing mostly on the bench, he admits his game was more one-dimensional.
Cleary helped transform Koroisau into a more thinking whore, using the players on the field as his pawns and positioning them instead of hammering his way through the line with each play.
“I’ve changed a lot from playing a physical whore role to a mental whore role,” Koroisau said.
“I now use everyone as my pawns, which is good, so I don’t have to get that many hits.
Koroisau watches during a Penrith Panthers NRL training session at BlueBet Stadium
“I understood that you get on the field at certain points and using other people is beneficial for me and the team.
‘When a ball is played quickly, I always wanted to run myself.
“But it might be a better idea to have someone run on the ball, no matter who it is, and have it carried over their advantage line.
“Maybe I’ll only get 10 yards and slow the ball down.
“If a front rower comes in hard, we get another quick play-the-ball there so we can get off the field.
“I started using everyone a little more.”
Koroisau poses during a media opportunity of the New South Wales Blues State of Origin squad
Koroisau is very proud of his new style of play which has earned him a call up to the New South Wales State of Origin side.
“The art of deception is to try and buy some people time around me,” Koroisau said.
The hooker signed for Wests Tigers in 2023 and will play the Rugby League World Cup before then.
He has been named in Fiji’s extended roster but could play for Australia with the final Kangaroos roster to be named to the NRL grand final.