Penrith's last ride has officially begun, with Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai reunited at Panthers training for their shot at a fourth straight NRL premiership together.
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Penrith's State of Origin players returned to training for the first time on Wednesday, ahead of Sunday's clash with St George Illawarra in Wollongong.
Childhood teammates since their days in Penrith's junior representative program, Luai and Cleary have not played together since the latter tore his hamstring in May.
They now have a maximum of 11 games together left at club level, with this weekend kickstarting the run to the finals and race for a top-two finish.
"It's the last ride for a very long combination," Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said.
"To be able to get those guys together with Romey (Luai) playing so well, I think that'll be really exciting."
Since first partnering in under-16s Harold Matthews Cup, 26-year-old Cleary and 27-year-old Luai have played 122 games alongside each other as starting halves.
The pair have won 97 of them, at a strike-rate of 79.5 per cent.
Further history also awaits.
No halves pairing has won four premierships together since the great Parramatta combination of Brett Kenny and Peter Sterling in the 1980s.
And none has won four consecutive grand finals together since the St George pair of Brian Clay and Bob Bugden between 1958 and 1961.
Coach Cleary predicted on Wednesday that Luai's impending departure from the club could be a motivating factor for the five-eighth over the next two months.
"It's definitely inspired us in other ways before, the last couple of years," Cleary said.
"Romey is certainly following that theme, as is Fish (James Fisher-Harris). The guys who have left have finished (by) having their best years.
"It's definitely an inspiration and something to be motivated by."
Cleary and Luai's reunion comes as competition's run home begins to take shape, with four teams likely fighting for an all-important home final via a top-two finish.
While Melbourne appear destined to finish in the top two with a four-point advantage at the top, Penrith are one win clear of Cronulla and two clear of the Sydney Roosters.
Penrith have also not given up on the minor premiership, with a round-24 clash between the Panthers and Storm likely to go some way to deciding top spot.
An analysis of the top-four teams' remaining matches shows Penrith have the easiest run home, while Melbourne have the toughest.
"In terms of wins and losses we are fairly similar to (this point) last year," Cleary said.
"This is the time of the year where you can get some combinations and work out what is best for you.
"We're sitting ok. We've got a lot more to give, and we're going to need to
"The nice thing is we have that experience to know how it is going to look and feel. We've just got to work towards that."
THE RACE FOR THE NRL'S TOP TWO:
MELBOURNE (34 points, +141) versus Parramatta (a), St George Illawarra (h), South Sydney (a), Penrith (a), Dolphins (h), North Queensland (a), Brisbane (a)
PENRITH (30, +118) v St George Illawarra (a), Newcastle (h), Parramatta (a), Melbourne (h), Canberra (a), South Sydney (h) Gold Coast (h)
CRONULLA (28, +125) v North Queensland (a), South Sydney (h), Gold Coast (a), Newcastle (h), St George Illawarra (a), Warriors (h), Manly (a)
SYDNEY ROOSTERS (26 +209) v Manly (h), Dolphins (a), Parramatta (h), Gold Coast (a), Canberra (h), South Sydney (a)
Australian Associated Press
