Penrith are starting to feel the James Maloney effect take hold as they finalise preparations for Saturday afternoon's elimination final against the Warriors.
Maloney will run out for his eighth NRL finals series in nine years at ANZ Stadium, and become just the fourth playmaker to play finals at four different clubs come kick off at ANZ Stadium.
In an incredible record across the NRL, Maloney won premierships in his first season at the Sydney Roosters and Cronulla in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
And as he prepares to enter a finals series as captain for the first time, Panthers coach Cameron Ciraldo said he'd stood up even more at training over the past fortnight.
"James is our captain and leader. He's got the most experience than anyone in our team so we look for him in those situations," Ciraldo said.
"Just the energy he's had at training and preparation the last two weeks especially has been contagious.
"I think everyone's been vocal the last two weeks, we've been after a good performance so that's been seen from our senior players.
"They're talking a lot more and becoming more involved in preparation."
Saturday's clash will represent a significant battle of the halves.
The Panthers looked a far better team against Melbourne last week with Maloney and Nathan Cleary back on the field together, as the NSW State of Origin pairing only managed to play half the year together due to injuries.
Prior to this year, Maloney was the best foil Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson had consistently had at club level, as the pair partnered together in the lead up to the 2011 grand final.
But the Warriors livewire has built a similar combination with Blake Green this year, who will return from a calf strain on Saturday.
"I think Blake's probably got a similar influence on their team to what James Maloney has on ours," Ciraldo said.
"Mason Lino did a really good job stepping in for him and he's a capable player.
"Having Green come back into their side is a big boost and we're going to have to be good to stop him."
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