While the Panthers have dominated the competition for three seasons now, and despite contesting their third consecutive Grand Final on Sunday afternoon, they're set to be heavily outnumbered in the green-and-gold.
Despite New South Wales selecting seven Panthers for the series decider in July, only two Penrith stars are locks for Mal Meninga's 24-man Kangaroos squad, while another two are on the cusp of an Australian debut at the tournament.
Allegiance headaches have caused havoc for Meninga while selecting the squad, with backline superstars Brian To'o, Stephen Crichton, Izack Tago and Taylan May all committing to Samoa, as has five-eighth Jarome Luai.
Isaah Yeo is a certainty to start at lock for Australia, pushing Cameron Murray to an edge with just one international appearance between the duo.
Nathan Cleary is in a battle with Daly Cherry-Evans to start at halfback in a full-strength Kangaroos outfit, however Mal Meninga will carry both into the World Cup. While Cleary is the better halfback as it stands, his struggles in the rep arena have dragged Cherry-Evans into favouritism for the jersey.
Liam Martin and Dylan Edwards can book their plane tickets with massive Grand Final displays. Meninga confirmed Edwards is in his sights for the tournament, but the versatility of the likes of Latrell Mitchell and Valentine Holmes could leave a back-up specialised fullback as a futile squad selection.
Martin started in all three Origin games for the Blues, and while his aggression was a positive factor for the side, he really struggled to implement himself in attack throughout the series, making just 180 metres despite playing 230 of a possible 240 minutes across the three games.
Pat Carrigan made more metres off the bench in Origin I alone.
Cameron Murray is a definite edge selection while Yeo occupies the middle, leaving the likes of Angus Crichton, Nat Butcher, Shaun Lane, Jeremiah Nanai, Martin and more to scrap it out for the vacant edge spot, as well as a potential bench spot.
The squad will be announced in the days post-Grand Final, with a serious of shock selections and omissions set to creep into the 24-man squad, including the exclusion of Dally M medallist Nicho Hynes looking more and more likely.