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Victor Radley and Lachlan Lam have been mates for the best part of 20 years, but this weekend their friendship will be put to the test.
Lam's Papua New Guinea side will aim to upset an England outfit spearheaded by Radley and hopeful of winning a Rugby League World Cup on home soil.
Radley declared to play for his father's homeland earlier this year, and while the move was initially met with skepticism he has quickly begun to win over English fans with his no-nonsense style.
That relentless approach is something that's been a constant throughout Radley's game ever since he and Lam first played together at Clovelly Crocodiles as seven-year-olds.
"I used to have parents coming up to me asking him (Radley) to not hit so hard," Lam's father and former PNG skipper Adrian Lam told AAP.
"I was like 'that's the way he is', he wore headgear back then.
"I said to some people back at home he would be England's best player at this tournament.
"A lot of people questioned him in England, but I knew he would win them over pretty quickly.
"It's an incredible journey they've both had to get here."
Radley, now 24, credited Lam Snr as one of the biggest influences on his career and says all he wanted to do as a kid "was smash my head into people".
The bond between the two families runs deep all these years later, even if Lam left the Sydney Roosters to work under his dad at English outfit Leigh earlier this year.
After PNG surged to the knockout phases with a win over Wales in Doncaster, Radley's father Nigel was one of the first people to make his way down the grandstand to give Lam a hug.
"I don't think I've ever played against him, maybe as a schoolboy," Radley said.
"It'll be a tough match with PNG. He (Lam) has been a big part of my life and Adrian has been a massive part of my football career.
"It's funny, seven-years old from Burrows Park on the cliff there at Clovelly (to here).
"Adrian always believed we'd be here. I remember him saying we would play in the NRL together. It's all because of him that we are here."
