Penrith's surge towards the top eight has received a boost with skipper Matt Moylan set to return from injury for Sunday's crunch clash against Wests Tigers.
Moylan is on Monday expected to train with his teammates for the first time since aggravating a hamstring injury in an NRL win over Gold Coast two weeks ago.
"I start back running today and see how it goes. It's feeling really good. We'll see how it responds to running today" Moylan said prior to training on Monday.
"I just want to make sure I've done enough work and that I don't go back out there and tweak it again. Having not done it before, I didn't know what to expect when I first come back.
"I just want to make sure that when I get into a game situation, I don't really tweak it again."
Moylan's inclusion would be a big lift for a Panthers side sitting ninth on for-and-against behind a faltering St George Illawarra side with just five games remaining.
In contrast, the Panthers have won four straight and will start as favourites against the Tigers.
Moylan compared his team's current vein of form to the five-game winning streak they rode into last year's finals, when they were bundled out in the second week.
"It's similar. We're starting to win some games," Moylan said.
"Obviously it was a disappointing way to start the season. We had five losses in a row there and we had to work really hard to turn that around."
His return would also mean the Panthers' field their new spine of fullback Dylan Edwards, halfback Nathan Cleary, Moylan and hooker Peter Wallace for just the second time since the 26-year-old's move to five-eighth last month.
Moylan credited Cleary for stepping up in his absence for two of the past three wins.
"He's going really well. I think he showed that over in New Zealand when he led the side around there and done a really good job," Moylan said.
"It's about me building that combination with Nath, Dylan and Wall now. If we can get that spine clicking the way we want, we can play the footy we've been hoping to play all year."
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