Scott Sorenson is famously one of the toughest blokes in sport. This is interview question that broke him: ‘You got me’

Penrith second-rower Scott Sorensen has fought back tears when discussing the upcoming departure of his teammate James Fisher-Harris as the Panthers chase a fourth consecutive premiership.

The Panthers secured a home qualifying final for the fifth year in a row by scraping past the Titans on Saturday night.

Superstar halfback Nathan Cleary will be back on deck for their next game, but the club is also preparing for James Fisher-Harris and Jarome Luai to move on next season – leaving huge holes in their roster and in the players’ hearts.

Sorenson – who is well known for being hard as nails on the field – was asked about Fisher-Harris’ departure to the Warriors – and was caught off guard.

‘Of all the players you’ve had to say goodbye to, is James Fisher-Harris one of the hardest?’ 7NEWS NRL reporter Jelisa Apps asked Sorensen.

Sorensen was suddenly choking back tears.

‘Yeah, I think so, yeah definitely’ he said as he struggled with the emotions. ‘Yeah. .. oh, you got me on the spot. Yeah it is,’ he said.

Sorenson then tried to recompose himself. 

‘They’re pumped and they’re excited for the occasion this weekend and I’m putting all our energy towards that … (but) you got me there, sorry,’ he said again.

The Panthers hard nut (pictured with wife Elle) will be hoping to send his friend off from the club with a fourth straight premiership

Fisher-Harris and Jarome Luai (both pictured) are both preparing to depart from Penrith next season as the Panthers keep shedding talent

‘I just love them.

‘The bond and the brotherhood we have here it’s so special.’

Locked into second place, the Panthers will have Nathan Cleary back from his shoulder injury to face the Sydney Roosters in their qualifying final at Penrith Park on Friday night.

“He’s fit, and this was always the plan to play him this week,” coach Cleary said.

“The stakes have moved up, and we always want to pick our best team and he is ready this week.”

But Penrith cannot rely on the star halfback alone to iron out the creases that have been evident throughout his absence, the side once again appearing worn-out and error-prone on Saturday night.

Penrith were never comfortable against the 14th-placed Titans, making 15 errors and trailing 6-4 at halftime on the back of a surprisingly strong first half from the visitors.

But it would be a brave pundit to write off the triple reigning premiers, especially now they are locked in to host the Roosters, who haven’t beaten Penrith since 2019.

The Panthers are chasing a fourth consecutive premiership this season

Coach Cleary is remaining calm despite a shaky finish to the regular season.

‘It didn’t look like we wanted it to look like, but the main thing was to win the game and that’s what we did,’ he said.

‘I honestly feel like our defence has improved in the month or so. What we didn’t have tonight was our attack to complement it. 

‘If we can get both together, we’re going to be hard to beat.’