The success of the Penrith Panthers has ended another fruitful NRL relationship – and now Nathan Cleary has broken his silence on the exit of long-time friend and halves partner, Jarome Luai.

The five-eighth officially put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Wests Tigers worth an estimated $6 million, with his tenure at the foot of the mountains coming to an end this year.

Luai has been a focal point of the side’s three-straight premierships, forging a lethal combination with Cleary at both club and State of Origin level.

However, the money on offer at Concord and the allure of playing under Benji Marshall was too good to refuse, with the Samoan international opting to move on from his local club.

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Cleary opened up on the impending departure of Luai, after the pair dominated every level of football since they first met as teenagers.

“I’ve played alongside ‘Romy’ my whole Penrith career, since we were 15 years old, which makes it even tougher,” he said.

“It’s sad. It’s also a business, and he needs to look after his beautiful young family. He had so many people in his ear asking him what he was going to do, so I didn’t want to be that guy asking.

“He’s also at that stage of his career where he can make decisions for himself. We all found out at the same time that he was leaving.

“I never could have pictured Romy in another jersey. Now he’s secured his future, we can focus on this year and try to make it special … it’s my last ride with him.”