Waqa Blake's right hand man has thrown his support behind the winger ahead of Friday's do-or-die clash against Canberra following Nathan Cleary's aerial assault in last week's Qualifying Final.
The 27-year-old dropped three of Cleary's frightening floating bombs in the 27-8 loss against Panthers with two of the drops directly resulting in Penrith tries.
With Raiders playmakers Jamal Fogarty and Jack Wighton no doubt set to test out the Eels winger in Friday’s do-or-die semi-final, Blake’s right-edge centre, Will Penisini, has thrown his support behind his outside man.
“Waqa and I have a pretty close connection, we’ve only been playing for a couple of weeks as a combination but I’ve always got his back and I know he has mine,” Penisini told NRL.com following Friday night’s loss to Panthers.
“He’s a pretty strong person, I think he was unlucky in that game but I know he’ll aim up again this week.
Cleary's back with a vengeance
“I think we do pretty well as an edge and we’ve just got to dust that game off and look forward to the next week now.”
With a seven-year age gap, the right-edge pair are worlds-apart in terms of NRL experience, but 20-year-old Penisini said his team needs “to step up” and apply more kick-pressure to save Blake from falling victim to another aerial raid.
“Cleary’s one of their key players and he obviously put on a clinic against us but as a team, it’s on us to limit the amount of ball he has and his time with the ball,” he said.
“It’s not just on him (Waqa). It’s a team sport and we need to dust off and prepare as a team to adapt to those situations.”
“Obviously finals are pretty intense because now it’s do-or-die, so we’ve just got to look forward to next week.”
A former teammate of Cleary’s, Blake knew first-hand what the Panthers playmaker was capable of with the football but is hopeful the premiership-winning halfback has prepared him for the worst.
“I made it hard for myself, and after the game I was like, ‘you got me’,” Blake told the media on Monday.
“Every kicker in the NRL can float it; obviously Cleary is the best at it but I’ve just got to be ready and I can’t wait for this week’s challenge.
“Just knowing Cleary’s bombs, it’s hard to practise for... you just have to catch the ball. That’s it. Nobody kicks them better than him.
“I was there when he debuted, he has always been a class player. And you can see it now."
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Despite the result, Blake said a conversation with coach Brad Arthur, who encouraged the Fijian winger to "flush" away the night, gave him confidence for Friday's do-or-die clash.
“I’m lucky to be playing first grade every week… wherever the coach wants me to play and whatever is best for the team, I’ll play there,” he said.
“But I know what I’m capable of and little moments like that, it’s not on my team it’s on myself and I’ve got to own it.
“He (Arthur) hasn’t said much, he’s just told me to flush it to be honest.
"I obviously need to do more practice with them and watch it back to see what I could do better but other than that it’s just owning my moments."