They've made three consecutive NRL grand finals and have won two of them together, and now Penrith Panthers halves duo Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary will take the field for another grand final โ but this time, on opposite teams.
Though the two have been playing in close proximity since their youth, Luai has set the tone for an intense duel, claiming โthere are no friends on the field.โ
The five-eighth could have represented Australia or New Zealand, before proudly announcing his allegiance to the island nation as part of another player revolution akin to the one that Tonga experienced in 2017.
But now, as he prepares to face Cleary on the biggest stage of all, Luai is ready to make the most of the historic opportunity.
โIt's going to be awesome, we're competitors through and through,โ Luai told AAP.
โIt's going to be a battle against one of my boys, but out there, there are no friends on the field.
โThere are only brothers and enemies.
โWe (Cleary and Luai) grew up in the same comp but we haven't played each other on a real high (level).โ
Luai and Cleary were members of the St Marys and Penrith Brothers clubs respectively in the Penrith junior competition, and though they used to take each other on from time to time at that level before uniting at the Panthers, those stakes simply don't compare to what they'll face on Saturday afternoon.
Though the significance of Samoa's final appearance isn't lost on the players, the job is far from finished in their eyes and they genuinely believe they can go all the way.
โWe've got a great team with a lot of talent within our side,โ Luai said.
โIt's a simple game and if you're not completing high then it's going to be tough to win. That's our main focus and belief.
โBelief got us this far when not many people believed in us.
โWithin our group there's plenty of that, we always believed we could shake the comp up.โ
