'It will be weird': Cleary eyes first clash with Luai

Yahoo

3 days ago

There was a time when playing against Nathan Cleary brought Jarome Luai to tears, such was the beating Cleary's team gave him.
Fast forward 15-odd years, and Cleary predicts it'll be all love and respect - and possibly a little sledging - when the four-time premiership winning teammates square off at NRL level for the first time.
Wests Tigers recruit Luai hosts Cleary's Penrith at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, some eight months after leaving the Panthers for a regular job as an NRL game manager.
Luai won a remarkable 78 of 89 matches playing as Cleary's co-pilot in the halves at the Panthers, the pair presiding over a dynasty the likes of which had never been seen in salary cap-era rugby league.
But the shared history goes way back to their early adolescence, when Cleary moved with his family from Auckland and began turning out for local club Penrith Brothers - rivals of Luai's St Marys Saints.
As professionals, the duo played against one another in the 2022 World Cup final as Cleary's Australia beat Luai and Samoa.
But Cleary's mind goes to those park footy days - half a lifetime ago - when he's asked what it will be like to face Luai on Sunday.
"We had a few duels back then but obviously it's been a long time," the Panthers halfback said. "I'm looking forward to it.
"I do remember probably the biggest upset in junior footy history. We beat them one day and they were stacked. They were so good.
"They used to beat us just about 50-nil every time they versed us and one day we got them.
"He (Luai) might have cried. I'm not sure that'll happen again."
Cleary admits "it will be weird" to think of Luai as a rival again this week, with the pair having begun their journey through the Panthers' junior system not long after those days with Brothers and St Marys.
This year, Cleary has taken a keen interest in the Tigers, who appear to finally be turning the corner under Luai's guidance following three consecutive wooden spoons.
"It's been good to see them playing some good footy, particularly when they've got momentum, they're one of the best teams in the comp, I reckon," he said.
"Just his energy alone has lifted a lot of players around him. That's probably his greatest asset."
It's one of the many qualities Cleary admires in Tigers halfback Luai.
"There's just always that mutual respect there. We don't talk all the time but whenever we do or whenever we see each other, it's always love," he said.
"You'll never be able to take away what we've been able to achieve together. It's always respect and love whenever we see each other."
But if Luai tries to get under Cleary's skin the way the Panthers co-captain did to him all those years ago, Cleary says he may have to consider biting back at his good mate.
"I don't really start the chirp but if he starts it then we'll see," Cleary said with a smile.