Of all the premiership winners that have departed Penrith, Stephen Crichton may be the one the premiers miss the most.

Co-captain Isaah Yeo certainly knows life will not be the same when the Panthers start their pursuit of a fourth straight title without their strike centre

The Panthers have farewelled Viliame Kikau, Api Koroisau, Matt Burton and Kurt Capewell in recent seasons, but Yeo said Crichton was a player who repeatedly stood tall in the big moments.

“It’s hard to replace ‘Critta’ [Crichton], he’s played 100 games, and his best games have all been in the biggest moments,” Yeo told this masthead.

“All the players that have left have been important for us – the boys who have been poached have all helped our success so much.

“He’s never played poorly on the Origin arena, he’s come up with big plays in grand finals, and he kicked the field-goal to put Samoa into the World Cup final. No moment is too big for him.

“It’s not just what he brought on the field in those big moments, it was off the field, too. He brought the energy, he was incredibly professional, and a good leader for a lot of the younger boys as well. He’ll be sorely missed.”

Taylan May will have the job of slotting into Crichton’s right centre spot for Friday’s opener against Melbourne.

When asked if he ever feared the Panthers’ production line would end, Yeo said: “Not when you go out and look at the Penrith juniors and the million teams out there. You only need a couple every year, and club has done a wonderful job identifying the boys coming through. They don’t really miss the mark. And they’re not just good players, but the club makes sure they are good people.”

Lock forward Yeo is 29, starting props Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris are 28, Scott Sorensen is 30 and Liam Martin celebrated his 27th birthday on Tuesday. To quote coach Ivan Cleary’s favourite term, the pack are hitting the ‘sweet spots’ of their careers.

“We’re certainly not ‘Dad’s Army’,” Yeo said. “Ivan likes that word ‘sweet spot’. Every time we talk to the coaches at the start of each year about what you want from that season, we all want to be better. And any time that is the case, and the goal to be better than what you were the previous year, that will hold you in good stead.”

The Panthers have Jarome Luai returning from shoulder surgery for the trip to AAMI Park, while the home team have named Cameron Munster who remains in doubt with a groin strain suffered in a hotel shower.

Crichton will captain Canterbury and start in the centres against Parramatta. Jaeman Salmon will start at lock, while Kurt Mann wears the No.14.

Nicho Hynes (quad) is fit for Cronulla against the New Zealand Warriors who welcome home Roger Tuivasa-Sheck after a rugby stint.

The Dragons travel to the Gold Coast with Tyrell Sloan and Zac Lomax to start at fullback and wing respectively, but expected to rotate like they have in the trials. Viliami Fifita will make his debut off the bench.

Roosters prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will get some much-needed game, having served his seven-match suspension, when he runs out in NSW Cup against Penrith.

Meanwhile, Manly coach Anthony Seibold has confirmed winger Jason Saab is facing up to six weeks on the sideline with a potential grade-two hamstring tear suffered in the season-opener in Las Vegas.

Saab, arguably the quickest player over 100m in the NRL, broke down inside the final five minutes of Sunday’s win over South Sydney and will fly back to Sydney on Wednesday, and undergo an MRI on Thursday.

Karl Lawton will also undergo scans on Thursday for an ankle injury.

“‘Saaby’ looks like he’s potentially got a grade two, which is somewhere around four to six weeks,” Seibold told this masthead.

“I don’t think he’ll be back any quicker than that from what I understand. He looked in really good form, but if he’s out six or seven weeks and misses five or six games, it’s still a long season.”

Sharp-shooter Reuben Garrick was spotted in a moonboot in Vegas, but will be fit for Sunday week’s clash at home against the Roosters.

Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans was greeted by his three daughters at the airport, while forward Nathan Brown confirmed he was en route to the hospital for the pending arrival of his first son.