'Like a little brother': Cleary taking Talagi under his wing

Panthers five-eighth Blaize Talagi has opened up on the role Nathan Cleary played in his rise to the Penrith No.6 jumper. 

The halves spent the summer in the rehab group together recovering from shoulder injuries and while Cleary returned to the field ahead of his younger teammate, Talagi has found his feet in the past couple of weeks. 

The 20-year-old stepped into the starting side for the first time in Round 6, before producing an impressive performance to help Penrith snap a five-game losing streak in last week's victory over the Roosters. 

The Panthers will look to make it two in a row when they face Manly on Saturday night, however they will have to do it without hooker Mitch Kenny who accepted a two-match ban for a hip-drop tackle. 

Talagi has formed a close bond with Cleary since his arrival from Parramatta in the off-season and said the experienced halfback helped him settle in at the foot of the mountains.

"It’s been good, had a setback with my shoulder but I knew I had to come in and earn my stripes," Talagi said. "I wasn’t just going to slot in straight away.

"I had to earn it but I think the timing’s been perfect, and the more games I play the better I’ll get. Everything happened the way it should’ve.

"I’ve learnt a lot of things [off Nathan], plenty on and off the field. Just watching him and the way he does things is pretty cool. We do video together, the little things he sees are very detailed, I love learning from him."

Talagi was recruited to Penrith with much fanfare to replace NSW Origin star Jarome Luai. 

The five-eighth concedes the shoulder injury was an unfortunate setback, and he found himself in a four-way battle for the No.6 jumper. 

Jack Cole had first crack at the position, while Trent Toelau and Daine Laurie have also featured in various roles throughout the opening weeks of the season.

Talagi was forced to commence the year in NSW Cup, with coach Ivan Cleary conceding the youngster was not ready for the starting five-eighth role at the beginning of the campaign.

Saturday's performance, however, showed Talagi has the inside running to make the position his own and Nathan Cleary is confident they are building the foundations for a successful partnership. 

"He seems like a little brother at the moment," Cleary said. "I forget he's only 20 years old, he's so raw, so willing to learn so I've really enjoyed it so far. 

"He's constantly building. In the pre-season we both had rehab together, now we're starting to build those reps on the field. It's definitely a work in progress and a long way to go but it's something I'm looking forward to and I'm excited about."

Talagi's comments come as Parramatta coach Jason Ryles publicly declared his interest in Wests Tigers youngster Lachlan Galvin. 

The five-eighth has found himself at the centre of a firestorm following last week's announcement of his desire to leave the Tigers at the end of next season.