Penrith halves partnership set for next evolution
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Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary has declared his combination with five-eighth Blaize Talagi is ahead of schedule as the pair look to lead the Panthers back to premiership glory in 2026.
Talagi was tasked with the daunting job of replacing Cleary's close friend and long-time halves partner Jarome Luai following his departure for the Wests Tigers after the 2024 grand final victory.
It's a process the 20-year-old initially struggled with before slowly finding his feet and flourishing at the back end of the year.
A match-winning double for Blaize Talagi
Cleary and Talagi have now had another summer to build their combination, with the pair to make their first appearance of 2026 against Luai's Tigers in Friday night's Witzer Pre-Season Challenge clash at Leichhardt Oval.
While 2025 ended in disappointment, there are high hopes for the new year and Cleary knows his partnership with Talagi will play a key role in Penrith's success this season.
"I'm really excited to not only see Blaize develop, but also our combination develop as well," Cleary said. "It was starting to go really well last year and that was with only one year together.
"Last year's pre-season we were both in rehab pretty much the whole time so we're both fit this year and able to work on that combination from day one. I'm hoping to build on that and go out there and see how it goes."
Match: Wests Tigers v Panthers
Round 3 -
home Team
Wests Tigers
5th Position
away Team
Panthers
16th Position
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Both Penrith and the Wests Tigers have named near full-strength squads for Friday's game, with a host of big names to take to Leichhardt Oval.
Luai will partner with Adam Doueihi in a new look Tigers halves combination, while Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards are back on deck for the Panthers.
The Panthers have flown under the radar this summer and enter the year in the unusual position of chasing the premiers rather than holding the trophy.
Cleary and Talagi will also begin 2026 with a full pre-season under their belts after undergoing off-season surgery 12 months ago.
The five-eighth's development was most clear in Penrith's dominant semi-final victory over the Bulldogs, in which the 20-year-old starred in both attack and defence.
"You could just feel he was growing in confidence as the season was going on," Yeo said. "In the end, he was a massive part of our side and why we were having success.
"You can tell he has another season under his belt, more confidence in the system, more confidence in himself, what he brings to our side and the point of difference he is.
"He's been impressive. He doesn't give much away, he's a pretty cool, calm character but a hell of a player and a hell of a teammate. He's so important to our group, I'm not sure if he knows how important he is but he certainly is. He's a massive factor in our side and our success, a lot of it we couldn't do without him."
Talagi will go face to face with the man he replaced on Friday night, as Luai lines up at five-eighth for the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.
Every touch - Jarome Luai
The youngster has spoken in the past of the pressure he felt stepping into the role at the start of the year.
The Panthers' early-season struggles made his task even more difficult, but he eventually settled into the role and became comfortable playing his own game rather than attempting to replicate Luai's style.
Yeo said the side had a responsibility to adapt to Talagi's playing style and backed the youngster to fully step out of his predecessor's shadow this year.
"They're different and similar players," Yeo said. "They're both off the cuff footy players. How they do it is different, but they're both players that when they see something, they're calm enough to do it and do it at a really high level.
"There's some real similarities with the way they play but there's also some differences with how they do it and they're both tremendous players."
The stars will come out to play for Week 3 of the Witzer Pre-Season Challenge. Catch all the action live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
