Jarome Luai insists lightning can strike twice and he'll be able to strike up a similar combination with Luke Garner to that which he enjoyed with Viliame Kikau on Penrith's left.
Filling the Kikau-sized hole in the second row shapes as one of the Panthers' biggest hurdles in pursuit of a third straight title, after his defection to Canterbury.
The hulking forward offered Penrith a genuine game-breaker as a hard-running option for Luai to either find with a short pass or use as a decoy when the ball went back to centre Izack Tago.
Kikau's impact was immediately felt at the Bulldogs this weekend, where he scored a try in his first trial with the club before suffering a game-ending head knock.
At Penrith, the club is well aware they received a reality check in their 13-12 World Club Challenge loss to St Helens.
Questions have been asked about how they can handle the likes of Kikau and scheming hooker Apisai Koroisau's exits.
Both have been part of Penrith's three years of dominance, with Luai having rarely played first grade as a regular starting five-eighth without them.
But the NSW State of Origin five-eighth insisted he was not fussed by what it would mean for him.
"Kiks has always been there on my side, but that's what footy is about. Teams change," Luai said.
"We faced that challenge last year, we lost some players. And the year before that.
"But I am stoked to have Gards next to me.
"We have had a pretty good five weeks together. I am happy to have got out there and had our first hit out and continue on the combination."
Garner was restricted to three runs in Saturday night's loss to the Saints, as the English champions rushed up on the edges in defence in slippery conditions.
Asked if his options would change since Garner is 22kg lighter than Kikau on that edge, Luai said he did not believe they would.
"Not really," he said.
"Gards is pretty big himself. It's not really about size for us.
"It's a building thing and it's a long year. It was our first game of the year year, and I didn't expect our best footy in the first game of the year."
Luai also laughed off criticism of halves partner Nathan Cleary, after he celebrated a late match-levelling conversion by signalling he had ice in his veins.
"That's all in the moment. That was a pretty big pressure kick he pulled off," Luai said.
"He has stepped up in a lot of those moments. If people are talking crap about that, it's pretty crazy because he has stepped up in a lot of those moments."
