2021 has already been a pretty successful year for Ryan Papenhuyzen’s Melbourne Storm, with the club winning its fourth NRL minor premiership in six years - going on a 19-game winning streak which has equalled the all-time record set by Jack Gibson’s great Roosters’ side of 1975.

But on a more personal level, it’s been a bit more up and down for star fullback Papenhuyzen - a concussion suffered during Magic Round forcing the fullback to miss seven weeks of action.

However, in a year in which fullbacks such as Tom Trbojevic, James Tedesco and Latrell Mitchell have been dominating the NRL, Papenhuyzen has found form at just the right time for his Melbourne Storm -- scoring three tries in the win over Cronulla that secured the Storm the minor premiership and crossing the try line twice as his side convincingly booked a place in the preliminary finals with a win over Manly. 

He spoke to ESPN’s Lucie Bertoldo about returning from concussion, finals footy, bubble life, and much, much more.

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