The 2024 NRL Grand Final will mark the end of an era for the Penrith Panthers, and for Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris, it will be the last time the two close friends will play together at club level.
Prompted by Fisher Harris' move to the New Zealand Warriors due to family reasons, the duo will be looking to win one more premiership together having come up through the ranks together as teenagers.
"We had a feed at Charcoal Chicken. We didn't know each other at the time, and he was with all the other boys, but I never knew him," Leota told Zero Tackle on his first interaction with his front-row partner.
"That was my first sort of interaction with him."
Since that meal, Leota and Fisher-Harris have gone on to create a formidable partnership in the front-row and have been a key reason for the club's success in reaching five consecutive NRL Grand Final matches.
Nicknamed the 'Bash Bros', Fisher-Harris' move to the New Zealand Warriors will surprisingly see him join Leota's childhood club - a club he remembers facing the Manly Sea Eagles in the 2011 NRL Grand Final and one that he grew up watching as a kid.
"Our partners run our 'Bash Bros' merch and we've known each other for ten years now. Our partners are really close and have shed a few tears," he added.
"I think I've already been hit hard by the news back then. I was a bit emotional and whatnot but I'm just taking every moment as it comes and just enjoying every moment.
"It would mean a lot not only for me but for a lot of the boys with Romy and Tito leaving. We always want to send our good mates off in style, and hopefully, we'll do that this week."
Less than 24 hours away from featuring in his fifth consecutive grand final, the New Zealand international revealed to this publication that it's still a surreal feeling and that he can't believe his dream has turned into a reality.
Attending the same school as Sonny Bill Williams, he still remembers walking past a blonde-haired picture of the former Canterbury Bulldogs and Sydney Roosters premiership winner.
"I always imagined playing in a grand final, but I'd never imagined playing in five grand finals, but it's always good to be back here," Leota said.
"(I remember watching) Sonny Bill Williams, mainly cause I went to the same school that he did and had his photos up on the wall.
"He used to have blonde hair, and it was just pretty special, and my old coach, Mr. Bell, always used to talk about him, and it was pretty cool to see him do well.
"I haven't met him, but he was the one that helped a lot of Pacific Islanders, and a lot of people looked up to him and loved the way he played the game."
