Nathan Cleary’s hamstring tear couldn’t have come at a worse time for the NSW Blues but it could prove highly beneficial to Penrith’s hopes of carving out a slice of premiership history.
Apart from a knee injury in 2018 and a shoulder problem which delayed his start to last season, Cleary has clocked up plenty of miles in his first eight seasons in the NRL.
When he returns from his hamstring tear next month the 25-year-old will become one of the youngest players to reach 150 games and he’s already up to 14 Origins for the Blues.
His absence for the last two matches of this year’s series against the Maroons is a major blow to Brad Fittler’s goal of regaining the shield and ensuring he remains at the coaching helm next year.
But for the Panthers, they are more than equipped to get through the next few weeks without Cleary, not just because they signed a capable back-up playmaker in the off-season in Jack Cogger, who has stepped in with aplomb for the past two matches as the premiers accounted for the Dragons and Roosters.
(Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
And Cleary could do with a freshen-up. He was hampered by a groin injury earlier in the season which prevented him from taking the goal-kicking duties, then he had a painful wisdom tooth problem in the lead-up to Origin I before he was sidelined early in the win over St George Illawarra when his hamstring popped.
A six-week sabbatical or even a bit longer is just what he needs in the middle of what was shaping up to be an arduous campaign on the back of a lengthy one last year due to his starring role in the Kangaroos’ World Cup campaign.
Despite not playing at their best in several matches this season, particularly in the first month as they got off to a 1-2 start, Penrith are somehow at the top of the NRL ladder heading into Round 16.
The standings are deceptive – they have a worse record (9-4) than the Broncos (11-4), who are also on 22 competition points but are enjoying their first bye of the year this week.
But it’s still a remarkable achievement by the Panthers as the prospect of a fourth successive Grand Final and a third straight premiership loom large on the horizon, aiming to become the first side to three-peat (if that’s a verb) since the 1983 Parramatta Eels.
They enter Friday night’s clash with the Cowboys at QCB Stadium with not only Cleary but Blues reps Isaah Yeo, Brian To’o, Jarome Luai, Liam Martin and Stephen Crichton off the team sheet.
Liam Martin. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
A loss will hardly be the end of the world for them and by the luck of the draw they’re taking on a North Queensland side without five stars due to Origin duty as well – NSW debutant Reece Robson plus Maroons quartet Valentine Holmes, Murray Taulagi, Reuben Cotter and Jeremiah Nanai.
Finishing top four is all-important when you’re in pursuit of the premiership and Penrith should do that comfortably with a schedule in their remaining 11 rounds which includes just four sides currently in the top eight.
It’s way too premature to lock in a top four but the Panthers, Broncos, Storm and Rabbitohs appear to be separating themselves from the rest of the finals contenders.
Cronulla have gone backwards the past couple of weeks, the Warriors and Raiders are unreliable, Manly’s fortunes rest on the health of a few players while the Titans, Dolphins and Roosters have run hot and very cold.
Ninth-placed Parramatta, with a relatively soft upcoming schedule and two more byes up their sleeve, appear to be the side best placed to make a late surge up the ladder to finish in top-four territory although Dylan Brown being stood down while facing five charges of sexual touching could stymie their attempts to leapfrog several teams.
For Ivan Cleary, his main concern is moulding his new-look side into a cohesive outfit with Jaeman Salmon promoted from the interchange for a rare crack at his preferred position of five-eighth to partner Cogger in the halves.
Penrith are coming off a bruising 30-6 victory over a fired-up Roosters outfit while the Cowboys have had the benefit of a bye after their impressive 45-20 triumph over Melbourne.
“I’m not even sure about the stats this year (with the bye) and how it’s all gone. It certainly gives you time to work on a few things an reassess where you’re at,” he said at his captain’s run media conference on Thursday. “Regardless, it’s always going to be a difficult game.”
Cleary has full faith in the reinforcements he’s brought into his game-day line-up, such as Salmon, experienced middle forward Matt Eisenhuth and utility Tyrone Peachey.
The Panthers run the same plays in attack and defence from their NRL team down to their junior representative teams and Cleary gets extra satisfaction in matches like this when the big names are out but the less-experienced replacements carry on like it’s no big deal.
“We have a system that we believe in, we’re not going to stray too far from that,” he said. “We’ve put guys in who we think can do the job. Those guys know their roles.
“It’s not so much each individual, it’s the actual club and the team. Regardless of who puts the jersey on, we’ve got some standards we want to live up to. I always see it as a good fun game to go into.”
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