Spencer Leniu opens up on Sydney Roosters exit, Naufahu Whyte, Parramatta Eels contract

Spencer Leniu revealed his future plans with a cryptic comment last month to Roosters teammate Naufahu Whyte when they were rooming together, with the pair sharing an emotional embrace as they lived out their promise to each other.

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The Eels confirmed last week that Leniu had signed a four-year deal to join the club after he was granted an early release from his Roosters deal.

There had been speculation for the past few months that he would move on at the end of the season, but even his teammates weren’t sure what to believe.

Whyte had an inkling and had it confirmed after the grand final win over the Knights where he and his great mate shared one last hug in the sheds.

“I asked him a couple of weeks ago because I’d seen rumours and stuff, and as roomies, we tell each other things like that,” he told the NewsWire.

“So I just asked him straight up ‘are you leaving or what’s the go with you?’

“He gave me a funny answer and said ‘let’s just win this ring first’. After that, I just left it.

“Then we were the last two in the changing rooms about to take a photo with the trophy together.

“He came up, shook my hand, and said ‘that was my last ride with you’.

“I knew it for a bit. I just had that feeling that it was our last ride together. I told him it was a crazy experience and special to share that occasion with him.

“At the end of the day, that’s footy. He’s going out to do what’s best for him and his family, and I give him nothing but love and respect. I’m just grateful that we got to do something special together on the big stage. I hope all goes well for him.”

Whyte will have to carry more of the load next year with Leniu gone, but that won’t be an issue for the 24-year-old who was comfortably the best prop forward in the world last season.

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He set career highs in all the major categories and was rewarded in the Dally M Team of the Year.

But the personal highlight was winning the prestigious Jack Gibson Medal as the best player at the Roosters in 2026.

“It means everything to me,” he said, with skipper James Tedesco winning it seven times in the past eight years, while Lindsay Collins got it in 2023.

“Throughout the five years I’ve been there, I’ve just been seeing Teddy and Lindsay go up there.

“I always kept it at the back of my mind that I wish I won this one day. To hear my name get called out on Wednesday night was special for me and it’s definitely a moment I won’t forget.”

Whyte and Tedesco were the two best players in the grand final, but the superstar forward says club relationships will mean nothing in Thursday night’s World Cup opener.

Tedesco and halfback Sam Walker deserve to be picked in the Australian squad where they’ll go up against their Roosters teammate, with Whyte set to run out alongside Kalyn Ponga and Dane Gagai who were Newcastle rivals in the grand final.

“These are my brothers now. We’re all done now, the NRL stage at club land is finished, and I come in with a new crop of brothers,” he declared.

“It doesn’t matter who you are – Teddy, Sammy – if you’re running at me or I’m running at you, I don’t see you as my mate.

“That’s just the mentality that we carry as NRL players, and we know how to flick that switch when it comes to being brothers and then being rivals.

“It’s crazy because we were in the same team together – me, Teddy, and Sammy – just a couple of days ago, and now I’m on the same team with Kalyn and Dane.

“That’s just how footy is sometimes. That’s life, and it’s war when we cross those white lines.

“I’m not the type to feel sorry for you on that field. I know I played alongside you the whole year, but especially when it comes to representing your country, it’s different. I know they’ll be thinking the exact same thing.”