Isaah Yeo is the vital engine room cog who ensures Australia's spine fires and ahead of the World Cup final against New Zealand the Kangaroos skipper says it is well oiled and ready to ignite.
The 32-year-old lock forward is the link man at Penrith, where he has played alongside the likes of fullback Dylan Edwards and half Nathan Cleary for the entire decade.
The starting Australia spine of Reece Walsh, Cameron Munster, Tom Dearden and Harry Grant will play together with Yeo for just the third time this tournament in the final at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
In the 66-6 win over Cook Islands they showed promise, but the 44-12 semi-final win over Samoa was a giant leap forward with Munster and Dearden running the ball, Grant scheming and Walsh adding the magic touches.
Yeo was the guiding light at No.13 with his forays into the defensive line and elite passing game.
"At Penrith we've played over 150 or 200 games together, so it just happens, but in this instance, you front-load that connection," Yeo said when asked about his combination with the spine.
"You try to figure out what each other's strengths are and play off the back of that.
"I'm incredibly lucky to be in this environment and everyone's world-class, so I still pinch myself in that regard. I feel like our combination's grown as the campaign's gone on and hopefully we keep improving."
The Kangaroos haven't lost a Test match since the 2023 Pacific Championships final, when the Kiwis sprung a shock 30-0 win.
Yeo was in that team, but says revenge isn't driving him on Sunday.
"I certainly didn't like it at the time, but there's been a lot happen since then," Yeo said.
"This is a totally different group, with new coaching staff as well. It certainly wasn't a highlight, but I think we learnt lessons from that.
"The year after we won the Pacific Championships. Then we went and won the Ashes after that."
Australia were rusty at the start of this tournament, but Yeo has said several times that learning lessons while still winning has been the key.
"We've improved as the campaign has gone on. You obviously become more connected as a group. You go into video and narrow down what you think your real strengths are as a team and I feel like we've done that," he said.
"From the first game, we've had little areas that we've wanted to improve. I thought we put most of it together against Samoa last week, but ultimately we're still chasing our best performance and we look forward to that challenge."
Yeo won't leave anything in the tank, realising that this will be his last World Cup.
"I think it certainly will be. I'll be 36 or 37 (by 2030), so I highly doubt it, but I just stay in the present," Yeo added.
"I'm incredibly grateful to be in this position and understand the honour it is to captain your country. It's certainly not lost on me, but I'm certainly enjoying the ride at the moment."
