“It’s pretty blurry, but I get to watch the games with my boy,” he said.

“I’m really disappointed that I’m not around for this part of the season, but I’m sending all my positive vibes across the ocean.”

Beating out Schubert by a few thousand kilometres is former Western Sydney resident Anthony Micallef, who has been sporting his Panthers jersey this week in Malta.

Over 16,000km away, Micallef will be watching the game with his wife and one-year-old daughter, who he believes may be the youngster Panthers fan in all of Europe.

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Micallef grew up in St Marys but moved to Malta in 2008.

Three years ago, Micallef and his partner, Erika, became well known to most die-hard Panthers fans after the duo got engaged at Penrith Stadium.

Micallef had brought Erika over to Australia for the first time, and proposed to her 20 minutes before kick-off during round one against the Eels in 2019.

“She said yes, she didn’t have any other option,” he said. “I’ve been a Panther fan since 1991 after I jumped on the premiership bandwagon as a nine-year-old and never got off,” he said.

“I didn’t miss a home game and travelled to most Sydney away games from the age of 15 until I moved to Malta at age 26.”

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