It’s easy to focus on the 16 players who didn’t run out for Penrith on Thursday night, but that would be a disservice to the Panthers pups who made their NRL debuts and did the jersey proud in a gritty loss to the Bulldogs.

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Four rookies were named and a fifth made his debut after coming on as 18th man on Thursday, with Panthers coach Ivan Cleary brimming with pride after the match as his young troops frustrated Canterbury all night.

John Fonua was one of the great stories, with the former NSW under-18 fullback quitting rugby league a few years ago before he turned his back on good money to return to footy with the Panthers.

Then there’s 23-year-old Zac Lipowicz, a carpenter by trade who rocks up to training at 4pm in his high-vis top covered in mud before pulling on the boots.

The edge forward is off to Catalans on a two-year deal but got the chance to make his NRL debut on Thursday night in a game he’ll never forget, even if he’s $1000 poorer after being fined for a hip-drop tackle that led to a stint in the sin bin.

“It’s unreal, I definitely wasn’t expecting it,” he said after the game where Penrith’s stars watched from the stands after they were given a rest.

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“I went to work on Tuesday morning, I knew I was coming into training but didn’t expect to be playing, especially starting. It was pretty unreal.

“On Tuesday morning I started at 5 (in the morning), finished at 1. It was a big day into training, but that’s all right.

“As soon as I found out (I was playing) emotions (were) through the roof and unreal. Just living on the wave, riding on the wave.”

His mates at work found out he was in when the team list dropped at 4pm on Tuesday, and they would have been stoked for a young man who was part of something special against a side that will finish in the top four.

Making his NRL debut was something Lipowicz couldn’t have pictured a few years ago, with a gym owner helping him turn his life and career around when his footy dream was in the balance.

“There was a time there probably three or four years ago (when) I was struggling a bit, overweight and lazy as, unfit. They just kept turning up for me and pushing me to go further and harder,” he said.

“I was waking up knowing I had training and thinking, ‘I don’t want to go to training this arvo’. It was probably one of the worst things I could think of doing. It was a pretty tough time, but family and a couple of friends stuck by me and ripped into me.

“Working was a big thing, getting to the site early and ripping in all day. That was definitely the biggest thing. I tried to get extra sessions in when I could, when I wasn’t training, and just started to enjoy it again.

“One of my best mate’s brothers owns a gym that I go to. He kind of says everything how it is and says it straight, sits me down and has a couple of coarse words to say when I’m not doing what I should be.”

Thursday’s game will probably be his first and last for the Panthers during this stint, with Lipowicz signing a two-year deal to join Catalans in the Super League.

This will be his first full-time contract in rugby league, and he’s left himself six weeks to learn a bit of French and to start drinking wine before he makes the big move where he’ll eventually be joined by his partner.

“Obviously, you want to stay here, play in the NRL, best footy in the world, but I can’t say no to something like that if it comes up,” he said.

“Alex Chan and Joel Tomkins (Catalans coach) got onto me and had a chat and I thought it was a good thing for me moving forward.”