Panthers back-rower Liam Martin has capped a superb season by taking home the Clive Churchill Medal as the player of the grand final.
Martin came up with a crucial try and made 46 tackles as he carried his State of Origin form into the biggest game of the season.
A constant menace to the Storm in attack and defence, Martin summed up his feelings at the post-match presentation with a simple, "Oh, wow!"
"It's so surreal, I love you boys. Just shows the character we have to dig deep," Martin said.
"I was gone there but to have you boys there to drag me along... I had Nath and [Izack] Tago saying 'we need you to keep turning up' and just having those boys drives you.
"We just keep turning up, it's just the character of this team.
"And to all the fans, we do it for you, we do it for Penrith."
At 27 years of age and 126 games into his career, Martin is now a four-time premiership winner.
Storm v Panthers – Grand Final, 2024
Speaking to media after the match, coach Ivan Cleary described Martin as the epitome of a big-game player.
"The bigger the game, the better he goes," Cleary said.
"Some huge plays tonight, he was definitely out on his feet in that second half but he kept finding something.
"He just continually turns up when we need him."
