‘It was pretty crazy to watch it back’: How Paul Alamoti and Sunia Turuva went from grand final enemies to brothers for life

They might be teammates this week on the hunt for a premiership ring, but Sunia Turuva and Paul Alamoti were enemies two years ago on grand final day when the Panthers and Bulldogs played out an epic NSW Cup decider.

A stacked Penrith team led by J’maine Hopgood edged out Canterbury 29-22, with Turuva opening the scoring and then crashing over for the sealer with six minutes remaining at CommBank Stadium.

He had only played three NRL games at that stage and was coming up against Alamoti, who was only 18 and hadn’t made his first grade debut.

A lot has changed since then, with Alamoti leaving Canterbury to link up with the premiers where he’ll line up alongside Turuva, who is off to the Wests Tigers in 2025.

“Some of the boys were taking the piss out of us two and they brought up that grand final,” Alamoti said.

“It was pretty crazy to watch it back and see what he was like two years ago. It’s also pretty crazy to see how far I’ve come in two years.”

Turuva started cracking up instantly when the grand final was brought up, but he quickly switched gears to praise his young teammate who is coming off a crucial double in last week’s preliminary final win over the Sharks.

“We were watching the highlights last week and he was there with us, so it was a pretty funny to see,” the energetic winger said.

“It’s good to see him from where he was last year to be in this position. It’ll be pretty cool to run out with him for his first GF.

“People forget how young he is. People don’t see how professional he is behind the scenes with his ice baths and stretching.

“We played Cup against each other and then together, so to be here now is pretty special.”

While Turuva is hunting his second premiership ring in as many years, this is foreign territory for Alamoti who was touted as the next big thing at the Bulldogs but fell out of favour and left the club after just one season.

The powerful centre said he wasn’t feeling any nerves after the Cronulla game, but the enormity of the occasion is starting to hit home for the young gun.

“I’m definitely starting to feel it because there’s a lot going on in grand final week,” he said.

“I knew what I was getting myself into so there are nerves, but they’re good nerves. I don’t want to hide from these emotions because not everyone in the world can experience this.

“I’m embracing it all and taking it as a good thing because it definitely is.”

For Turuva, the game against the Storm will be his last for Penrith before he joins the Tigers, with the Fijian star reflecting on where it all started for him at the club a few years ago.

“I remember my manager called me saying that they wanted me to come in for a pre-season a few years ago,” he recalled.

“That was pretty exciting, but then a few weeks into pre-season, they signed me to a development deal. Mum got emotional as and started crying.

“Just being in a position to be able to help my family out was massive. Family is the biggest thing for me, so being able to help them out is pretty cool.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet (that I’m leaving). That’s probably something for after the game when it’s all said and done when I’m looking around at friends, family and the boys around me.

“Knowing that it’s coming to an end, it’s pretty sad.”