They're both inseparable and play an eerily similar playing style, but the grand final halves pairings of Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai for the Penrith Panthers come from extremely different origin stories.
Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai were destined to partner each other in the halves for Penrith one day, dominating the junior grades together since they joined forces at 15. A few years later they collected a premiership for Penrith's Holden Cup side, a feat they'll be aiming to repeat on Sunday.
They compliment each other so well, Cleary's pinpoint kicking game paired with Luai's eyes-up footy style of play, they have an enormous attacking arsenal.
Their first game against the Rabbitohs this season saw Cleary rack up 28 points while Luai had two try assists and two linebreaks to boot.
Between Round 1, 2020 and now, Penrith have won close to 90 per cent of their games played, and that dynamic duo is at the heart of it.
Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds followed a different route.
They weren't always the close-knit pranksters of this South Sydney outfit, in fact, the pair nearly came to blows almost 15 years ago, long before either left their stamp on the NRL.
Reynolds was playing for Matraville High when he was 17 while Walker ran out for Palm Beach Currumbin when the two got into a scrap midgame, something the duo laugh about now.
Since Walker's 2016 NRL debut, he and Reynolds missed the finals his first two seasons, and have finished in at least a preliminary final the four years that have followed. Both have played State of Origin, and now lined up alongside one another for over 100 NRL games. Just like their opponent, Reynolds is the sharpshooter while Walker is the king of backyard footy and playing what he sees.
The five-eighth has had a ridiculous season that almost saw him snare a Dally M, with well over 50 try involvements so far this season. You can tell when he's on as soon as he starts sweeping to the right edge.
He's brought it into his game more and more ever since Latrell Mitchell's 2020 hamstring injury. Walker started to play both sides of the field to take pressure off Corey Allan, and is now doing the same for Blake Taaffe.
Whichever of these two duos do their individual jobs the best will win the game. The Rabbitohs put enormous pressure on Cleary in their last meeting, but the halfback was too preoccupied with bombing Taaffe and trying to force an error instead of kicking to the corners and building pressure.
He won't make the same mistake twice.
Unless either side's lock forward jumps out of the ground to win it, it seems near certain one of these four halves will be the Clive Churchill medalist. Two of the four will add a premiership ring to their trophy cabinet on Sunday night, the other pair will have a quiet beer in the sheds and battle with what could have been.
The Penrith boys have lost their only decider, Reynolds is one from one, and Walker is yet to taste the big dance. Will Cleary or Reynolds kick better, will it be Cody or Jarome that seizes their opportunities? The only certainty in this contest is that everything these four men have will be left on the field on Sunday night, win or lose.
Fabulous read.