LAST year when James Segeyaro visited Carrington Park he was one of the Panthers’ best when it came to defence, but today it is his attacking spark which could prove decisive for Penrith.

The 24-year-old hooker and his team-mates will be attempting to back up their winning start to 2015 with victory against the Titans in the second of five annual NRL fixtures the Panthers have agreed to play in Bathurst.

Whereas last year Penrith did not arrive in Bathurst until round 20, this time around they will make a much earlier trip over the mountains.

The date isn’t the only thing that has changed either.

Segeyaro now carries with him the confidence of winning last year’s Dally M hooker of the year. He has also developed his attacking game markedly and is a man opposition teams must take note of.

Comparing his 2014 effort in Bathurst when the Panthers suffered a 18-16 loss to Cronulla with Segeyaro’s performance in last Sunday’s season opener against the Bulldogs shows why he could be a key this weekend.

Last year at Carrington Park he made just 36 metres in attack, the Papua New Guinea native instead concentrating on defence as shown by 48 tackles. Only lock Elijah Taylor (52) dragged down more Sharks over 80 minutes.

In the 24-18 win over the Bulldogs, the number nine still made a handy 31 tackles to be second in that statistic once more behind Taylor.

But much more important to Penrith was the 185 metres he gained, which included three line breaks and a try on the back of one of those.

It was a performance that impressed his coach Ivan Cleary.

“Chicko [Segeyaro] was terrific, 80 minutes in that heat with that big Bulldogs pack was a great effort from him,” he said.

“The fact is James wanted to play 80 minutes and I thought he could do it.”

He may be one of the smaller hookers in the NRL, but Segeyaro lacks nothing in strength and pulled down a number of the Bulldogs’ big men.

As those forwards tired in the heat, he then took advantage with smart runs from dummy half, his acceleration catching his rivals out.

Though it is meant to be a touch cooler in Bathurst today, Segeyaro will be trying to exploit the Titans defence at every opportunity.

The presence of ex-South Sydney premiership-winning hooker Api Koroisau in the Panthers squad is good motivation for Segeyaro to perform.

“Api is a premiership-winning hooker and it’s always good to have a bit of competition biting at your heels,” Segeyaro said.

“It certainly makes you play better knowing he’s ready to step in.”

Segeyaro now carries with him the confidence of winning last year’s Dally M hooker of the year. He has also developed his attacking game markedly and is a man opposition teams must take note of.

Comparing his 2014 effort in Bathurst when the Panthers suffered a 18-16 loss to Cronulla with Segeyaro’s performance in last Sunday’s season opener against the Bulldogs shows why he could be a key this weekend.

Last year at Carrington Park he made just 36 metres in attack, the Papua New Guinea native instead concentrating on defence as shown by 48 tackles. Only lock Elijah Taylor (52) dragged down more Sharks over 80 minutes.

In the 24-18 win over the Bulldogs, the number nine still made a handy 31 tackles to be second in that statistic once more behind Taylor.

But much more important to Penrith was the 185 metres he gained, which included three line breaks and a try on the back of one of those.

It was a performance that impressed his coach Ivan Cleary.

“Chicko [Segeyaro] was terrific, 80 minutes in that heat with that big Bulldogs pack was a great effort from him,” he said.

“The fact is James wanted to play 80 minutes and I thought he could do it.”

He may be one of the smaller hookers in the NRL, but Segeyaro lacks nothing in strength and pulled down a number of the Bulldogs’ big men.

As those forwards tired in the heat, he then took advantage with smart runs from dummy half, his acceleration catching his rivals out.

Though it is meant to be a touch cooler in Bathurst today, Segeyaro will be trying to exploit the Titans defence at every opportunity.

The presence of ex-South Sydney premiership-winning hooker Api Koroisau in the Panthers squad is good motivation for Segeyaro to perform.

“Api is a premiership-winning hooker and it’s always good to have a bit of competition biting at your heels,” Segeyaro said.

“It certainly makes you play better knowing he’s ready to step in.”