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NRL News: Cleary pleads Luai's Origin case, Wighton explains retirement bombshell, Sharks find extra incentive

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18th April, 2023
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Nathan Cleary has made the case for Jarome Luai to keep the NSW No.6 jersey, claiming he plays his own best football when teamed with his Penrith halves partner.

Luai’s spot in the NSW team is one of the most contested ahead of next month’s State of Origin opener in Adelaide, with the five-eighth facing stiff competition from Cronulla star Nicho Hynes

Reigning Dally M Medallist Hynes is mounting a compelling claim to the jersey after firing on his return from a calf injury in the past month.

Luai, in contrast, has endured a quieter start to the season amid changes on Penrith’s left edge.

Cleary on Tuesday pointed to his combination with Luai, after they won the Origin series together in 2022 before losing last year’s decider.

The pair have played together since their teenage days in the under-16s at Penrith, and have won 75 of the 83 games they’ve played together at under-20s, NRL and Origin level.

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

“I’ll always say that I enjoy playing with Romey (Luai) because he makes my game better,” Cleary said. “We have a good combination that’s been built over a long period of time.

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“It might just be a look, and a lot of the time he just knows what I’m going to do so I don’t actually have to say anything.”

If NSW do stick with Luai at five eighth, Hynes could be an option to debut as a bench utility.

Cleary said he would not seek out selectors to push Luai’s case, and did not want to have an input on who should win out between his Penrith teammate and Hynes.

But he believed his combination with Luai reaped rewards in high-intensity games like finals and Origin football, with Penrith back-to-back premiers.

“Combinations are most important when you’re under pressure,” Cleary said.

“That could be on the Origin stage or that could be in the finals or anything really when you feel like you’re under the pump.

“You’re probably not at your best and you’re tired and all that sort of stuff, but you have that relationship and combination where you know what that other person is going to do in those moments.

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“That’s where it probably helps the most, and that comes with experience having played with each other for a long time.”

Cleary was hopeful that Luai would commit his future to Penrith shortly, with the club under pressure to keep both the five eighth and fullback Dylan Edwards when they come off contract at the end of next year.

“It’d be nice. I may need to get in Romey’s ear,” Cleary said.

“It’s what comes with success and having quite a young team as well is that everyone is on the up and not yet in the prime of their careers.

“I’d obviously like to have Romey stay here for as long as I’m here, but at the end of the day it’s not up to me.”

Wighton explains rep bombshell

Raiders star Jack Wighton has revealed why he decided to retire from rep footy at the age of 30 while also says he’s close to making a call on his playing future as he weighs up a huge offer from the Dolphins.

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Wighton told NSW coach Brad Fittler on Sunday that he was stepping down to “focus on club and family” and the Canberra five-eighth has explained that the goal for the rest of his career was to win a premiership ahead of any further representative honours.

“I’m very content with everything I’ve done for NSW and Australia. I’m actually very proud of wearing those jerseys,” he told NewsCorp.

“Now I want to focus on winning a premiership and having a bit more family time. That’s all this is about.”

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Off contract after deciding not to take up a Raiders option in his contract for 2024, he wants to resolve his future in the next few weeks so it doesn’t become a distraction for the Green Machine who have risen from the cellar to a 3-4 record in 14th after back-to-back wins over the Broncos and Dragons.

Jack Wighton of the Raiders offloads the ball

Jack Wighton of the Raiders (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

“I’d like to make the decision as soon as possible, in the next couple of weeks,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “I love the Raiders and I always will.

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“I’m breaking no rules … I had an option to check the market at my age and that’s what I’ve done.”

Wighton won the Dally M Medal in 2020, a year after he was the Clive Churchill Medal recipient in Canberra’s 14-8 loss to the Roosters in the Grand Final.

Red-faced Sharks bounce back

Braden Hamlin-Uele says Cronulla have set the bar for their 2023 campaign as he urged them to use their gutsy win over the Sydney Roosters as a springboard to get their NRL premiership tilt back on track.

After finishing behind Penrith in the race for last year’s minor premiership, the Sharks have endured a 3-3 start to Craig Fitzgibbon’s second season in the Shire.

The low point of a chequered form line was undoubtedly the round five loss to the Warriors, where Cronulla threw away a 20-point lead to lose 32-30.

Hamlin-Uele says that defeat was a reality check that reminded the Sharks that they were going to have to fight for their wins in 2023.

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Braden Hamlin-Uele is rounded up by Marata Niukore. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

“As a team, we were shattered by it, that (the Warriors loss) was embarrassing,” Hamlin-Uele told AAP.

“Personally, I don’t think I’ve ever felt that low after a game.

“Our lack of resilience was the most alarming thing.

“The crux of our team hasn’t changed … we might have been resting on our laurels from what happened last year, it’s a new year and we’ve got to turn around and start again.”

Cronulla had the best part of a fortnight to stew on that Warriors loss before defeating the Roosters without lock Dale Finucane (suspension) and prop Toby Rudolf, who has been sidelined by a toe injury.

Finucane will be back in round 10 after serving a ban for a hip-drop tackle, while Rudolf is not due to return until July.

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The Sharks face Canterbury and North Queensland over the next fortnight and Hamlin-Uele was aware he would need to spearhead their forward pack a little longer.

“I do talk a lot more these days but I like to go out there and let my actions speak for me,” he said. “I’ll give my two cents where I think I can add some value to the team.

“Toby is so valuable to use and he does so much dirty work, that it’s actually disgusting. He’s the epitome of service over self which is what we want to portray at this club. We know with those two out, we have to look in the mirror and step up and emulate what they bring.”

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