The swiftness of his move may have been a surprise, but Frank Winterstein knew the writing was on the wall at Manly long before he joined Penrith. Winterstein was preparing for another season on the outer at the Sea Eagles when the Panthers sent out an SOS to the veteran a week before round one. Already light on in second-row stocks, disaster struck Penrith when strike weapon Viliame Kikau suffered a knee injury in a pre-season match. Three weeks on and Winterstein will make his starting debut for the club when they host Melbourne in Bathurst on Saturday. "Obviously Penrith were after a backrower when Kiks went down. They had a spare spot in their top 30," Winterstein said. "And I think Manly, from what was going on there, they were looking for an outside back. Things worked out for the best. Everyone's happy and that's the main thing." Winterstein made five appearances in his one season with Canterbury in 2008 before embarking on a move to the Super League, where he stayed for five years. He then returned to the NRL with Manly, where he had his best season featuring in 25 matches under Trent Barrett in 2017.
