Penrith recruit James Maloney says he is excited to play alongside rising playmaker Nathan Cleary as the Panthers prepare for a round one local derby against arch rivals Parramatta.

“I’ve been excited to work with Nath. He’s a tremendous kid, heaps of talent, really down to earth, he works hard, he’s always working on his game,” Maloney said.

“It’s nice to be able to maybe have some sort of influence on where he goes and helping him develop and come through and be someone to take pressure off him at times and probably help bring some of his strengths out even more. It’s exciting.”

The two-time premiership winner also shrugged off Penrith’s ordinary trial form which included a lacklustre performance against a weakened Canterbury team.

“I think we just fell asleep a little bit going through the motions there. It’s nothing that concerns me. The boys are ready to go. I’d expect a good performance come Sunday.”

The81stMinute Call Team returns this Saturday at ANZ Stadium for Magpies versus Bulldogs – live from 1pm on steelesports.com.au!