He may have accused Brisbane of playing mind games by comparing Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary to Johnathan Thurston ahead of their knockout NRL semi-final at Suncorp.
But Panthers coach Anthony Griffin was confident livewire No.7 Cleary would be something truly special next year after Brisbane’s 13-6 win knocked them out of the finals at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Already without captain Matt Moylan (personal leave), Cleary failed to assert himself against a fired up Brisbane and his job only got harder when he lost halves partner Tyrone May (knee) on the stroke of halftime.
All eyes were on Cleary after the teenager earned comparisons with future Immortal Thurston from Broncos hooker Ben Hunt ahead of their knockout final.
Queensland coach Kevin Walters claimed it was only a matter of time before he faced off with Cleary in a Blues No.7 jersey.
However, even Cleary could not stop Brisbane ending Penrith’s run of eight wins in 10 games.
While Griffin took Brisbane’s huge rap on Cleary with a grain of salt, he expected his young half to file the finals experience away to emerge even better next year.
“I think they were playing a bit of mind games earlier in the week, Hunty and those guys,” Griffin said.
“But he is a very level-headed kid, he doesn’t shy away from anything.
“The way he plays and behaves as a 19-year-old is pretty special and he will be much better for this year.
“This was only his first full season. He will get a lot out of it.”
Meanwhile, Griffin believed May had suffered an ACL injury but had to wait for scans to confirm the extent of damage.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
A worry I have for Cleary is a lack of creativity in both his red zone play and kicking game. Why he went away from testing Nikorima with bombs and focused on Mead so much I'll never know. I understand trying to pin Brisbane to the corner but Mead could've caught polio out there the way he was playing. Nikorima on the other hand was shaky at best and had made an error or two yet they went away from him. Sure he made a great grab over Edwards but from memory that was the only catch he took under pressure in the whole second half.
RandyM
Guest
Cleary is a good halfback, may even play for NSW but he won't come close to the heights of Thurston. He's shown he has a good boot on him but what's his try assists like? I can't say I've seen him set up that many tries.