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Alamoti is one of the great stories of the finals after earning a recall at the expense of Tom Jenkins, with the winger producing his best 80 minutes in the NRL last week with three tries, 227m and 15 tackle busts in the win over his former side the Bulldogs.

While his return to the side is a story in itself, it pales in comparison to how the 21-year-old earnt the nickname “Brandy”, with Alamoti revealing it had nothing to do with the Panthers legend who came before him.

“When I was a toddler, I was just really sick. No one really knew what was wrong with me or anything. I was still a little toddler too,” he said, stunned that anyone even knew about the moniker.

“One of my cousins actually gave me a shot of brandy, the alcohol. And all of a sudden, I just came good, came out the other end. And ever since then, my family’s just always called me Brandy.

“And that’s pretty much what I’ve known at home.

“I never really spoke about it to my family. They just said, ‘Oh, you were really sick, like really, really sick, so we gave you a shot of brandy, and ever since then, it’s stuck with you ever since’.

“I’ve just carried it with me everywhere I’ve gone.”

Alexander found out about the nickname after reading a newspaper article earlier in the week and had to reach out to the Panthers media manager for the backstory.

“I didn’t know we were just rehashing nicknames,” he joked on SEN.

“We spoke to Paul Alamoti this week and he didn’t (tell us anything). I’m going to text him saying ‘what’s the go?’”

Given the role the drink played in healing him as a toddler, you’d think Alamoti would have enjoyed the odd snifter of brandy throughout the years, especially after he starred in Penrith’s 2024 premiership.

“No, I’ve actually never had a shot of it or nothing ever since. Probably won’t, but who knows? Maybe down the track I’ll eventually come across,” he said.

“Greg Alexander is one of the greats of the club and greats of the game, too. So it’s pretty special (to share the nickname).”

Alamoti has emerged as one of the most versatile wingers in the game, but he says he has a long way to go if he wants to be mentioned in the same sentence as teammate Brian To’o, whom he regards as the best in the world.

“Yeah, in my mind I put him definitely at the top of the winger’s category. I feel like he pretty much epitomises the wing position in our day and age,” he said, with To’o equally as dominant against the Bulldogs.

“I’ve always looked at him as a role model. The way he plays the game. Just the way he goes about his business on game day.

“He’s just second to none. I think he plays like a nine out of 10 week in, week out. He’s proved that on the biggest stage in Origin, grand finals and on the international stage. He’s pretty much the best winger in the world.”

It says a lot about the evolution of rugby league that 25 years ago the Broncos had the best wingers in the world, with Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri both standing 191cm tall and destroying rivals with their speed and power.

Alamoti is listed at 183cm, while To’o is officially 1cm shorter than his teammate, but they’ve adapted and shaped the modern winger, with the pair confident going into the preliminary final against Brisbane on Sunday.

“Like you said, different body shapes, different eras,” he replied when asked about the height difference.

“I feel like ‘Bizza’ (To’o) himself kind of changed the game by himself. Just the way the game’s played now, he runs for like 200m pretty much every week for the last five years.

“So he himself actually changed the game, changed the way wingers play nowadays and just the role of wingers and how much influence they have on the game.”