The Rugby League World Cup final will deliver a mouthwatering match-up as Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai — the Panthers’ and Blues’ superstar halves — square off at Old Trafford.
They’ve combined for three NRL grand final appearances, back-to-back premiership triumphs and a State of Origin series title.
But when Australia and Samoa collide in the World Cup final on Sunday (AEDT), Cleary will be wearing green and gold, Luai will be in blue and the gun playmakers will stare each other down on the same side of the paddock.
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“I reckon he’ll be gobbing off, Jarome,” the duo’s Origin coach, Brad Fittler, said on 2GB’s Wide World of Sports radio.
“Can you imagine his chat?”
It’ll be a throwback to when Cleary, playing for Brothers Penrith, and Luai, running around for St Marys Saints, faced off as juniors.
As Cleary teams up with Cameron Munster in the World Cup decider, Luai will pair up with Anthony Milford.
When Stephen Crichton slotted a field goal in golden point to sink England on Sunday (AEDT), Samoa became the first tier-two nation to have qualified for a World Cup final and the sixth country.
Fittler says the Samoans must play aggressive footy if they are to take down the juggernaut Australians.
“They’ve got to get under their skin a little bit and they’ve got to back themselves, the Samoans,” Fittler said.
“They need to find some errors and get them unsettled.”
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