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Penrith captain James Tamou says there will be plenty of leadership in the side when he leaves at the end of the NRL season.

He has been key to revamping the club's culture and Penrith captain James Tamou insists there won't be a leadership vacuum when he joins Wests Tigers next season.

The former representative prop is by far the most experienced player in the young Panthers group, but says there is unexpected leadership qualities throughout the team.

Although the 2021 captaincy is most likely to fall to Nathan Cleary or Isaah Yeo, Tamou says cheeky five-eighth Jarome Luai is someone he looks to for a lift in energy.

"He is a leader, he's got it in spades, he lifts the team with his talk and he doesn't even realise it," said Tamou.

"Nathan has come a long way this year and there's still a few older boys in there for next year.

"They'll be fine with leadership."

It's his powerful encouragement that has made Tamou such a respected figure at Penrith - and one of the biggest reasons the Tigers offered him a two-year-deal.

The 31-year-old said there was a one-year contract on the table to stay at Penrith, but the chance to play another two seasons of NRL with a club with potential like the Tigers was too good to resist.

It will be his third NRL club since making his debut with North Queensland back in 2009, but he says leaving the Panthers is harder is many ways.

"It's going to be hard to leave, and I've made some relationships that I will have for the rest of my life," he said.

"It would be so special, it would be unreal and the ultimate goal to win it here.

"The fans here they ride the rollercoaster with you and they ride it hard."

And while Tamou handles all the off-field captaincy commitments, Cleary's leadership on the field has helped the Panthers to top of the ladder with 14-straight wins.

In the past the NSW Origin halfback has struggled with the fear of failure, but if as given the captaincy in 2021 he says he could handle the added pressure.

"We're pretty lucky at the club, we've got a fair few leaders," he said.

"That's been a big part of the success this year is the leadership group we've built.

"Jimmy Tamou has been amazing, but you only have to look at someone like Isaah Yeo... he's so well respected around here and all the boys love him.

"I think he'd make a pretty good captain but if it did fall to me I'd be honoured."