Pride is the only thing the Wests Tigers are playing for but they are busy restoring it.
After a campaign to forget the team inherited by Ivan Cleary seems intent on going out with a bang.
Gold Coast Titans were the casualty at Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday, a 22-point defeat extinguishing their semi-finals chances. Next up is another top-eighth aspirant Penrith, featuring none other than Cleary's son Nathan at halfback.
"I've been thinking about it a bit the last couple of days," Cleary said on Sunday night. "I haven't really been looking forward to it.
"It's pretty weird on a number of fronts. Going back to the team you coached before for the first time and your son playing in there. At least IÂ know a lot about the opposition halfback."
Tigers' victories have been few and far between but when James Tedesco is lurking, they are always a threat. The electrifying State of Origin fullback scored a try himself and set up another, although it was far from a one-man show. The new halves combination of Luke Brooks and Tuimoala Lolohea continues to improve, hooker Matt McIlwrick was sharp and rookie lock Matthew Eisenhuth was the pick of a visiting forward pack that didn't give an inch.
"That was our best performance all year," Tedesco said. "We got ourselves in front and in past games sort of let that go and played some stupid footy...but we really controlled the game well there, and closed it out well.
"It's been a frustrating year where we couldn't really get ourselves in winning positions but to play like that is a confidence boost for us. Hopefully we can finish the year well."
It was a forgettable outing, meanwhile, for the Titans, who had started Jarryd Hayne at centre and collectively put in a "very poor performance", according to coach Neil Henry. Bidding to impress Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga and earn a spot for the World Cup, Hayne scored a try himself but after reverting to fullback after half-time could do little else to reverse the Tigers' dominance.
Not for the first time Tedesco was branded a "freak", this time by Tigers' second-rower Chris Lawrence, who equalled Benji Marshall's club try-scoring record. The fullback's afternoon could have been even better had his claims for a brilliant individual try in the first half not been rejected. The No.1 swerved around Titans defenders as if he were an L-plater rounding traffic cones at a driver training centre but he was found to have run behind teammate Sauaso Sue, who was ruled to have obstructed Gold Coast front-rower Ryan James.
The video officials looked more kindly on Tedesco soon after the break when it appeared he had knocked on an inside pass from Michael Chee-Kam before pursuing his kick into the in-goal.Â
The Tigers had spent much of the first half deep in Gold Coast territory but only had four points to show for it via rising centre Esan Marsters, who was the beneficiary of Tedesco's pace as he found a hole in the Titans' line.Â
They kicked away after half-time, though, with winger Malakai Watene-Zelezniak capitalising on a Brooks break and crossing three minutes after Tedesco's try, before Lawrence and later captain Aaron Woods, with a rare four-pointer, sealed it.Â
The Tigers had been pipped at the post the previous Sunday by Parramatta and are clearly enjoying being trouble makers for teams above them.
"If we can go out and knock teams off that's a plus for us," Woods said. "The boys get excited about it."
The Panthers and Cleary jnr will no doubt be wary after this performance.
"I've basically watched every game of theirs for the past six years," said former Penrith coach Cleary. "So we won't work too hard on the scouting report this week."
As for the Penrith No.7, who still lives under his roof, Cleary found humour in the upcoming match-up: "He might be grounded this week. His bedroom is a disgrace. He needs to start hanging towels up and stuff like that."Â
Jokes aside, the awkwardness of their meeting next Sunday won't alter Cleary's determination to have the Tigers finish the year strongly.
"He's got a job to do and I've got a job to do, and that's what we'll do."