Panthers five-eighth Jarome Luai faces a crunch fitness Test on his injured shoulder on Wednesday, while Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes trained at 60 per cent capacity ahead of the prelimary final on Friday night.

Luai will undergo a fitness test on his injured shoulder on Wednesday in a bid to prove his fitness after a month out with the usual return timeline six weeks.

“The big question is Jarome Luai and is he going to play and if he does, how fit is he really?” Braith Anasta asked on NRL 360.

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The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio revealed the Panthers are planning for Luai to play, but won’t risk him if he doesn’t pass his fitness test on Wednesday.

“Talking to Penrith officials this evening one thing is for certain the naming of Jarome Luai in this team it isn’t a smokescreen,” Riccio said on NRL 360 on Tuesday night.

“It isn’t a whole heap of finals hullabaloo and hoping the Melbourne Storm think that the Panthers are playing games. It is not a case of that.

“There is a deadset intention for Jarome Luai to play. The biggest day of all as far as Jarome Luai playing in this final is tomorrow (Wednesday). That is when the integrity of the shoulder will be absolutely tested.

“He could be withdrawn tomorrow if he doesn’t survive this test.”

Gorden Tallis joked if a Storm enforcer was coming up to test Luai’s shoulder out.

“Is Nelson Asofa-Solomona going there to test out his shoulder?” Tallis quipped.

“It is a really good point you raise because in the past Nathan Cleary has had shoulder problems too and when the Panthers have brought Nathan back to the point of now we need to see if he is ready, it would be Viliame Kikau who would be running hell for leather at Nathan to test that shoulder,” Riccio responded.

“Tomorrow it (shoulder) will come under the same duress with James Fisher-Harris or Moses Leota running at Luai.”

Tallis believes the Panthers have to be sure Luai can last the 80 minutes because carrying halfback Jack Cogger on the bench is fraught with danger.

“Well they have to don’t they, so they have got to get Leota, Fisher-Harris and Leniu to come off the back fence and charge at him a couple of times,” Tallis said.

“You see Jack Cogger named on the bench which to me that is a luxury carrying a No.7 on the bench.”

Riccio revealed Wednesday’s session is the last physical training run to test Luai’s shoulder ahead of the captain’s run on Thursday.

“It is the second last day before the game, which is their biggest session of the week,” Riccio said.

“The captain’s run these days is merely a walk through, toss the footy around, smell the grass and take the shoes off.

“Wednesday is the test. He could be withdrawn tomorrow if he doesn’t survive this test.”

Anasta doubts the Panthers will be able to needle Luai given the nature of the injury.

“Can they needle it? Gordy and I didn’t think they could. Is there a chance of them needling the shoulder?” Anasta asked

“It is a subluxation of the shoulder so look I am certainly no doctor, but it is about the structural integrity of it,” Riccio replied.

“It is about strapping it. It is about keeping it locked in and that is going to be the key.

“My concern is beyond this game is the grand final.”

Anasta warned the Panthers risk losing Luai for the grand final if he is rushed back too soon.

“Is this a risk?” Anasta asked.

“If he plays that is great for the Panthers, but if he re-injures it. He could sit the week out and just hope they get through to the grand final.

“They are obviously trying to risk him and help them win the prelim to get to the grand final.

“But the risk is if he re-injures it or he is not right and if they do win he is not there next week.”

However, Paul Crawley believes the Panthers have proven they can win without Luai, so he can’t see them risking him if he is not right to play.

“It is a risk, but the thing about the Panthers is they are a machine,” Crawley said.

“It doesn’t matter who is there or who is not there. We saw in the first up win over the Warriors they just have a way no matter who is there or not there, they find a way with that well oiled machine that just goes forward.

“The situation with Luai was always going to be a race against the clock because if we think back to Nathan’s injury that was a six week recovery before he played in the grand final.

“This is four weeks, so I don’t see why the Panthers would risk him if they didn’t think he was up to the test.”

Tallis agreed the Panthers don’t need Luai to beat the Storm and can afford to give him another week to get ready for the decider.

“They have been very successful without him,” Tallis said.

“The only game they lost was against Parramatta and if he plays that night he doesn’t make a difference because they had so much go wrong for them.

“They have been able to jump every hurdle with Cleary, Yeo and Cogger.”

Read on for the Early Mail and team news for the Preliminary Finals.

FRIDAY

Penrith Panthers vs Melbourne Storm at Accor Stadium, 7.50pm AEST

Panthers team: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Jack Cogger 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Luke Garner 18. Tyrone Peachey 19. Matt Eisenhuth 20. Zac Hosking 21. Luke Sommerton 22. Thomas Jenkins

Players cut:

Early Mail: Five-eighth Jarome Luai faces a crunch fitness test on his injured shoulder on Wednesday as he bids to return two weeks early. If Luai is ruled out Jack Cogger will move from the bench to five-eighth, with Tyrone Peachey, Zac Hosking and Luke Sommerton vying for the bench utility role form the reserves. Peachey may have the eedge given he was there in the first final, but Sommerton is a chance to give Mitch Kenny a break at dummyhalf. Izack Tago has been named to return from a pectoral injury, but should he fail to line up Luke Garner or Peachey will come into the centres, with the other vying for a bench spot with Hosking.

Storm team: 1. Nick Meaney 2. William Warbrick 3. Marion Seve 4. Justin Olam 5. Reimis Smith 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant 10. Christian Welch 11. Trent Loiero 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Josh King 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Tom Eisenhuth 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 17. Tariq Sims 18. Grant Anderson 19. Bronson Garlick 20. Sualauvi Faalogo 21. Tepai Moeroa 22. Chris Lewis

Players cut:

Early Mail: Jahrome Hughes has been named to return from a calf injury at halfback, but is no certainty to play. “Speaking to Melbourne Storm officials I can tell you that they have completed a training session in Melbourne and Jahrome Hughes took part in that session, but was in and out at about 60 per cent capacity,” Dave Riccio said on NRL 360. “The key for the Storm is slightly different to the Panthers because they don’t train on Wednesday. They have a Thursday run of which will be D-Day for Jahrome Hughes. As far as levels of confidence the Storm are hopeful and Thursday Hughes will be put through more strenuous testing. It is a calf injury which is a little bit different. It is soft tissue so you don’t know how long is a piece of string with a soft tissue injury? Ultimately Thursday will be the day for Jahrome Hughes.” If Hughes is ruled out Tyran Wishart will start at halfback with Bronson Garlick to join the bench. If Hughes plays Garlick could be a late inclusion on the bench anyway after he started the semi-final at hooker to allow Harry Grant to make a greater impact off the bench. Tui Kamikamica (head knock) has been named to start at prop and is expected to play. Christian Welch could be benched in favour of starting Nelson Asofa-Solomona as Craig Bellamy did against the Roosters.

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