Almost 12 years after playing their first game together in U16s, Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai celebrated their last as the chief architects of Penrith's fourth consecutive premiership.
For months, Wests Tigers-bound Luai had been steeling himself for "The Last Ride" - his final appearance for the club that scouted him as a teenager, and made him an NRL star across 131 first-grade games.
It had been a season in the spotlight for the fiery 27-year-old, who spent much of the year warming the injured Cleary's seat as the Panthers' game-manager.
That's a role he will play week in, week out at the Tigers.
But against Melbourne in the NRL grand final at Accor Stadium on Sunday night, Luai was for the final time the creative spark to Cleary's steady hand.
Nathan Cleary celebrates with Sunia Turuva after Penrith's opening try. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
It was billed as five-eighth Luai's last ride at the Panthers, but all along, it was the last ride for one of rugby league's most iconic duos.
The iceman and the renegade. The captain and the outlaw.
The pair's fingerprints were all over the Panthers' 10-6 halftime lead.
Right centre Paul Alamoti was the link man between Luai and Cleary on a set play that ended with the five-eighth throwing the last pass to left winger Sunia Turuva.
Luai came within an inch of sending Turuva over again, but a desperate tackle from Eli Katoa lodged the ball free from the winger's grasp after he fielded Luai's grubber kick.
On the stroke of halftime, Luai finally helped the Panthers capitalise on a dominant 10 minutes, throwing a looping pass over the ruck to Cleary.Â
The halfback then found a surging Liam Martin, another of the Panthers' best, and the second-rower charged almost untouched to the tryline.
Cleary cracks the Storm defence with Martin 😤— NRL (@NRL) #NRLGF pic.twitter.com/N4dJNCwo5MOctober 6, 2024
It was Cleary again in the second half who put the Panthers over, the halfback belting the ball deep into Storm territory.
Martin outcompeted Will Warbrick for the ball, with the ball travelling to the right and finding Alamoti - replacing the injured Brian To'o (knee) on the wing.
The win takes Penrith's already historic dynasty to new heights. Not since St George in 1966 has a team won four or more premierships in a row.
But it was the team, not the milestone, on Luai's mind as the last ride came to its terminus.
"History doesn't matter right now. We're soaking up this moment. Just to win one grand final is so special," Luai told the Nine Network at fulltime.
"No one works harder than these boys. We got what we deserved tonight."
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