There were times Kalani Leuluai-Going thought he'd see out the rest of his career in reserve grade.
Now, the 29-year-old journeyman can thank former teammate Jett Cleary for becoming a fixture of Penrith's pack as the powerhouse club eyes another NRL premiership.
Leuluai-Going managed only one first-grade game in three years on the Warriors' full-time squad: a round-27 clash when Andrew Webster rested his big guns before the 2023 finals series.
After failing to crack first grade for two seasons after that, Leuluai-Going was coming out of contract on his development deal and had accepted there may not be any more NRL in his future.
"Definitely that idea pops up quite a lot," he told AAP.
"It was just important for me to stay hungry and do the best I could with what I could control, so made the most of what I could do last year.
"You sort of can see that sometimes it can be a bit frustrating, but I had a lot of fun playing Cup for the Warriors."
Leuluai-Going won NSW Cup player of the year in 2025 and helped the Warriors to victory in that competition's grand final as well as the state championship against Burleigh.
That was when Ivan Cleary and general manager of football Shane Elford reached out with a one-year deal to join the Panthers for 2026.
Leuluai-Going feels he "definitely" owes a few beers to the coach's younger son and former Warriors teammate Jett for acting as a character reference.
"I was sort giving him a little nudge saying, 'Put in a good word', but that's sort of how it unfolded," he said.
"Obviously had a good year and 'Ive' and 'Spud' approached me and said that they were keen. I took that opportunity, obviously, you'd be dumb not to."
It's only taken seven rounds for Lauluai-Going to make three more NRL appearances and he could add another when ladder-leading Penrith faces Newcastle on Sunday.
Liam Martin's knee injury looks to have opened up chances for Leuluai-Going to spend time on an edge in the coming weeks, and the Kiwi is also able to play through the middle.
"It's sort of a pinch-myself moment just to be on the bench for such a great club," he said.
"If I can try stay here for as long as I can, that'll be the goal."
