Henry signed a two-year contract extension with Penrith and with that signature came confirmation the club has big plans for him.

The currently 20-year-old prop nicknamed 'Smiley' will be promoted to NRL development player status next year before progressing to the top 30 on the Panthers' roster in 2024.

"I'm pretty stoked about it, it's pretty exciting," Henry said. "That's the goal obviously, to be able to do footy full-time, but when they asked and locked it in, it was pretty cool, it was awesome."

Since training with the Panthers' NRL squad during the pre-season, Henry has gone on to become an important member of the NSW Cup side. Henry's side currently sits on top of the ladder, while his personal statistics include two tries, 12 tackle breaks, 405.9 post-contact metres and 228 tackles.

Producing those sort of numbers off the interchange bench have impressed Panthers officials, but for Henry it's about loving his footy and aiming for consistency.

"It's pretty special. The last couple of years have been on and off with a bit of footy, but this year has been more consistent obviously and I've been getting a couple of games in," he said.

"It's been really good playing under Peter Wallace... I average about 30-35 minutes a game, I'm just happy to be out there playing so anything I can get, I'll take."

Henry is currently balancing his football commitments with his job as a metal fabricator at the St Mary based Adler Fabrications.

But come the back end of this year, he'll be a full-time Panther. Henry is part of a long list of Central West talents who have risen through the ranks at Penrith.