Penrith coach Anthony Griffin has distanced himself from any criticism of the Auckland Nines after his side went agonisingly close to nabbing a maiden short-form title on Sunday.
Despite club bosses Phil Gould and Brian Fletcher openly expressing their grievances with the pre-season tournament last week, the Panthers didn't lose a game until the decider.
Griffin's men won six in a row at Eden Park before falling to the Sydney Roosters in a nail-biting 10-8 defeat in the final, where they went one straight kick from forcing a golden-try period.
While the Panthers boasted the likes of Nathan Cleary, James Tamou and Isaah Yeo, Griffin said he was delighted with the effort of his younger talents.
"It was magnificent, just to give those guys a run on a big stage," Griffin said.
""They did everything we wanted them to do. It would've been nice for them to win that last one. We got beat by a kick, but very happy we got out injury-free too, which was great."
Griffin made no apologies for wrapping a number of his NRL stars in cotton wool.
"We love the Nines at the Panthers. It's a good tournament. It's really well run," he said.
"Auckland, the city, does a great job. Obviously as a coach you're just always cautious about your players, it's my job to protect them. But the guys we brought here did a fantastic job."
Big-name recruit James Tamou was immense for his new side, turning in a two-try performance in his first appearance in Penrith colours.
The premiership-winning North Queensland prop revealed the club had already booked their tickets home on Sunday, such was their lack of confidence in getting a result in Auckland.
"We only had a couple of training runs for it," Tamou said. "We didn't expect too much."
"I think there was a scheduled flight for us to come home today, so that goes to show how much we put into it. But the boys wanted to put in and it was a good weekend."
Griffin admitted the club had been admonished by the governing body for attempting to field a depleted line-up devoid of NRL talent.
But Griffin said the experience benefited his younger generation.
"We got in trouble for not bringing a strong enough side from the NRL. I don't know how that works, but they're just good boys," he said.
"They're very mentally tough, very committed. They got a bit stronger which is nice to see from a club point of view."
Penrith's focus now turns to trial matches against Canterbury and Parramatta, with forgotten centre Dean Whare expected to make his long-awaited return from injury against the Bulldogs.
Peta Hiku could also come back with a 20-minute stint against the same side.
