"Even the other day I was just watching his highlights video and he's just unreal," Panthers halfback Cleary jnr said.

"I don't think I can go past that flick pass in the grand final. I think everyone remembers that. Just whenever Benji is mentioned I always think back to that moment. It will be a great test for us and I'm looking forward to it."

Cleary remembers when his dad told him Marshall was returning to the Tigers in 2018 to finish his career. He couldn't hide his delight. The best sporting stories always end where it all began.

Cleary just hopes Marshall's Tigers chapter starts sooner than he hoped, plotting the downfall of Benji's Brisbane in a do-or-die semi-final at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

"I thought it was pretty awesome when he told me was coming back to the Tigers," Cleary said. "He can play that mentoring role as well and I think it's awesome for the club.

"I think he'll be on his A-game. He's played finals before, he's won a comp and we definitely need to watch out for him. I reckon he'll be in for a massive game."

Thirteen years his junior, Cleary is perhaps the antithesis of Marshall. Cool and calm, the other rarely calculated and usually off the cuff.

Which makes the battle between the nominated starting No.7s all the more intriguing, one who has come to grips with how to own an NRL side at just 19 years of age and the other squeezing every last ounce out of his body at 32.

Marshall, of course, is not guaranteed a starting berth given Brisbane skipper Darius Boyd (hamstring) is edging towards a return that would prompt a reshuffle from Wayne Bennett.

"I do [expect Boyd to play]," Panthers lock Trent Merrin said. "It's a massive game. He's a professional and the skipper of that team. He'll be putting his body on the line to get himself out there.

"But who knows. Everyone plays games at this [time of year]. We're preparing as if he's playing."

But regardless of whether Benji is standing on the other side of the halfway line or not, Cleary knows the task facing the Panthers.

He's twice been to Suncorp Stadium - winning last year and cursing a loss this year, the fifth in a row for Penrith at the low point of their season - and knows what to expect.

Perhaps this will be a precursor for a hatful of State of Origins in front of a packed house of parochial Queenslanders.

"It's not unchartered territory," Cleary said. "I've never played there in a semi-final and I think it will be 10 times the atmosphere when I played there last.

"I don't know if you can really expect anything [at Suncorp Stadium], it defies all expectations. It's absolutely crazy and a great atmosphere. It's a bit daunting, but I really like playing up there.

"We've still got a lot of young guys, but the deeper we go into the finals the more experience we'll gain and that's all valuable."

Captain Matt Moylan popped his head into the Panthers' lodgings before last week's drama-charged finals win over the Sea Eagles, offering a word of advice to Cleary and five-eighth Tyrone May.

He might still be on the sidelines as he addresses mental health concerns, but his advice for the Panthers' key playmakers has been invaluable when they need it.

"I haven't really seen him the last couple of weeks - I think he's been just focusing on trying to get his health right, which is totally understandable - and we're right behind him," Cleary said. "It was good to see him there on the weekend in the sheds.

"He was around the rooms and giving us a lot of tips individually. I think myself, Tyrone and Dylan [Edwards] really appreciate that coming from someone like Moysa. It really lifted the spirits of the boys. It was good to see him."