Panthers coach Ivan Cleary 'very hopeful' son Nathan will return for Las Vegas season opener

Star halfback Nathan Cleary is on track to make a round-one return for the NRL's Las Vegas season opener with Ivan Cleary confirming his son's shoulder surgery went well.

Nathan is about a month into his recovery after undergoing surgery on the shoulder that kept him under an injury cloud in the lead-up to this year's grand final.

"Everything has gone smoothly in that sense," Cleary told 9News Sydney of Nathan's shoulder reconstruction.

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"He's extremely determined to get back on the field as quickly as possible if that just so happens to be Vegas in round one."

But the 27-year-old is in a race to be fit for the reigning premiers' Sin City showdown with the Sharks on March 2 after he was prevented from immediately going under the knife post-season because his surgeon was on annual leave.

"The surgeons and the docs are quite confident that as long as he doesn't have any setbacks, he should be fine," Cleary said.

"That's the challenge, to make sure you do everything right within the boundaries. You know, not push it too fast or too soon.

"But I'm very hopeful he'll be there."

This time around, the Panthers will head to the States without James Fisher-Harris (Warriors), Jarome Luai (Tigers) and Sunia Turuva (Tigers).

Asked if this will be his toughest title defence yet given the calibre of players the side has lost, Cleary was candid in his response.

"It might be," he said.

"The halves combination with Nat and Romey was a real key to our performance and big game victories over the years, and Fish has always been our flagship.

"[It's] definitely challenging but it's what we're here for."

The Panthers are back at pre-season training after celebrating the season that was.

But with the premiership party behind them, the Panthers' focus has now turned to winning a fifth-straight title.

"You just naturally regenerate [and] you get motivated for the next year," Cleary said.

"You're trying to work out how we can get better and evolve, and change, and we're in that space now. We're back at work and keen as."

Young gun Blaize Talagi is already settling in at Penrith after being poached from Parramatta to aid the Panther's push for another premiership.

"There's so much upside there," Cleary said of the promising centre.

"He's a long, long way from being the finished product and we're looking forward to him growing and getting on her journey here at the Panthers."