Cleary won the 2023 GF with luai off the field. Luai is yet to lead an NRL team for a full season at halfback, let alone a 3 time wooden spoon team. He hasn't won a game with a field goal or a clutch play as a half yet. Sure he's excelled in an elite team and won 4 GFs, but on his own (not just without Cleary but all the other guns) it will be completely different, confidence aside. Off season hype will mean nothing until a losing streak of 3 becomes 4, then 5, then 8, etc. as it always does here, and then he regrets coming here and he's lost his competitive spirit that he's been so used to. The good thing is he has experience in a losing side with penrith in 2019 when they were coming last halfway through the season and he helped the comeback in that year with 7 wins in a row when he played in the halves.
Depth is good for competition when you have one standout and one decent player. When you have 2 standouts in a key position one will likely leave or be unhappy about missing out. Too much money spent on depth can also be a big problem as seen with Jayden Sullivan.
My ideal halves combination for 2025 is Luai 7 Galvin 6, however if they don't combine well it's worth trying latu by round 10, which is more than enough time to form combinations.
Further into the future I'd have latu taking over luai at 7 and swapping roles with galvin playing lock. Latu has a isaiya katoa/jahrome hughes style of composure when he plays halfback, obviously very different to the bench impact role he plays brilliantly at the moment
