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Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary admits he still gets a tingle of excitement every time he faces boyhood idol Shaun Johnson on an NRL field.

He's an established NRL star leading the way for the competition leaders but there'll be a bit of the boyhood fan in Penrith's Nathan Cleary against Cronulla on Friday night.

It wasn't too long ago that a teenage Cleary, with his father Ivan coaching the Warriors, idolised Shaun Johnson as he broke into first grade in 2011.

Johnson is now at the Sharks and 22-year-old Cleary says it's still a thrill to pit himself against the experienced Kiwis star.

"Obviously I loved Andrew Johns and Johnathan Thurston but I was a pretty diehard Warriors supporter growing up," Cleary said.

"I was a pretty big fan of Shauny and was in awe of him when I got to go to training and watch him.

"It's always pretty cool coming up against him on the field now."

As well as the personal duel between Cleary and Johnson, the round 15 match is a chance for the Panthers to extend their club-record nine-game winning run.

Last week's win over the Warriors in Gosford kept the Panthers a point clear of Melbourne on top of the ladder.

Despite Penrith's form, Cleary believes there's still plenty of improvement in a team which has suffered just one defeat all season.

"Although we've been winning a few games we haven't been playing the way we've wanted to, or the best we can," the NSW State of Origin No.7 said.

"We're finding tough lessons out of that and putting that into training for the next week.

"I'd rather be learning lessons through a win rather than losing but if the loss is to come, we'll take that as it is."