Nathan Cleary’s shoulder is still far from 100% but the best player in the game was able to carry Penrith into a fifth straight grand final at Accor Stadium with a sublime showing to sink the Sharks 26-6 in Saturday night’s preliminary final.
On the same ground where he engineered last year’s dramatic grand final win over Brisbane, the superstar Panther underlined his all-round brilliance by tormenting the Sharks with a clinical attacking display.
He came up with three try assists and despite a late scare with his shoulder when making a try-saving tackle, it was a perfect performance and the ideal way to warm up for the trophy match.
Penrith are now just one more win away from history as they take a shot at becoming the first team since St George’s 11-year dynasty ended in 1966 to win four straight titles with only Melbourne standing in their way next Sunday at the same venue.
They are also the first club to qualify for five straight grand finals since South Sydney’s 1967-71 streak.
It may be another half a century before we see a team like this Penrith side manage to remain in title contention for so long in the era of the salary cap which is supposed to even out the competition.
Despite the win, Ivan Cleary was upset over a contentious call by the Bunker which cost his team what he thought was a certain try for an obstruction when it looked like Sharks centre Siosifa Talakai made a poor read in defence.
Cleary said Wayne Bennett had warned recently that a team would be dudded in the playoffs by a Bunker clanger due to differing interpretations and he was worried that next Sunday’s match could be decided by such a call.
Table of Contents
1. Cleary’s class propels Panthers into GF
Nathan Cleary’s shoulder and hamstring, twice, have sent him to the sidelines for extended stints this year but it’s a hallmark of his peerless ability that he is playing like he’s barely missed a beat.
Cleary bamboozled the Sharks at Accor Stadium, booting a 40/20, setting up the only try of the first half and making the defence second-guess themselves every time he touched the ball.
He went on with his masterclass in the second stanza with a couple more try assists right when Cronulla thought they were back in the contest.
Just as he did last year at his most recent playoff at the same venue when he broke the Broncos’ back in the grand final, he was the difference between two otherwise equally performed teams.
The lingering whispers about how his one weak spot was an inability to step up on the big stage have been eradicated forever.
He is not only the best player right now, he is almost certain to go down as the greatest of his generation and rival some of the all-time kings of the sport by the time his career is over.
For fans of the other 16 clubs hoping for some respite in the future, remember this – Cleary is just 26 and his best years are probably still ahead of him.
He laughed off any concern about his late exit from the game: “It’s all good, just a little bump.”
Nathan Cleary. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
2. Sharks all heart but lack pizzazz
Even the Sharks’ critics who say they are finals flakes will have to admit they didn’t shrink from the moment in this one.
They were simply outclassed.
Cronulla are a team of tradesmen who are professional and purposeful … but they ain’t the Panthers.
Braydon Trindall enhanced his reputation and the number of zeroes on his next contract with another fine finals foray but as good as he was, Cleary was better.
His halves partner, Nicho Hynes, has been heavily scrutinised all year and, as has been the case most of the season, the No.7 was not as dynamic as his breakthrough 2022 campaign which took him all the way to the Dally M Medal.
Whether it was due to his frequent injuries, Origin dumping or an overall lack of confidence, top form didn’t come naturally to Hynes in 2024.
They were gallant for this clash with Penrith and pushed the premiers to the limit but Ivan Cleary’s team was able to keep them at arm’s length, one of the traits that separate the great sides from the very good ones.
3. Premiers do it the hard way
Tempers flared when Will Kennedy was hauled into touch early and again after Toby Rudolf tripped Isaah Yeo as Penrith posted a penalty goal to open the scoring.
Liam Martin was off before the 10-minute mark for an HIA after a head clash with Kennedy before the Sharks levelled for an old-school 2-2 scoreline midway through the first half when James Fisher-Harris copped a rare offside penalty while in possession.
Hynes had a try declined by Ashley Klein’s eagle eyes with the ref spotting a Ronaldo Mulitalo knock-on in the lead-up before Nathan Cleary jump-started the Penrith juggernaut.
He launched a 40-20 to put the Panthers on the prowl and then fired a bullet pass to Paul Alamoti to stand up opposing centre Siosifa Talakai, deputising for the hobbled Jesse Ramien.
Talakai’s unhappy night continued when he was penalised for flattening Jarome Luai with a late hit and the Panthers lapped up the opportunity to go 10-2 up at the break.
Cronulla needed to strike first in the second stanza and after a tense stalemate, Hynes fumbled a tough putdown chance in the slippery conditions in the 57th minute.
When Sione Katoa tiptoed his way over in the corner a couple of minutes later the Sharks had a hope with the gap narrowed to four.
But it was Cleary again standing tall – after some broken lead-up play he launched a pin-point kick to the wing for Brian To’o to touch down and the lead was out to double figures.
And it was Cleary who created a break for Luai and then presented Alamoti with the match-sealing try.
Martin crossed in the closing stages to blow out the margin as Cleary was benched to ensure he will be right for the most important match of the year.
4. Chapter closing as Penrith chase history
The Panthers will farewell three integral members of their team next weekend in the form of Tigers-bound duo Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva and Warriors recruit James Fisher-Harris.
For the first time in their dynastic run, they will also be bringing in marquee recruits with Wests forward Isaiah Papali’i and Eels young gun Blaize Talagi signed to offset the latest star talent squeezed straight out of the Riff by the salary cap squeeze.
Much will be made of the departing trio in the lead-up to next Sunday’s stoush with the Storm.
Penrith are the masters of putting emotion to the side after doing this annual dance over the course of their premiership threepeat with the likes of Viliame Kikau, Matt Burton, Kurt Capewell, Api Koroisau and Stephen Crichton signing off with titles.
Emotion will not stand in the way of their relentless drive which has now yielded five straight grand final appearances and a fourth straight title if they can conquer the Storm next Sunday.
There were plenty of naysayers who arced up every time the sober analysis was offered up for most of the season that a Panthers vs Storm GF seemed an inevitability.
It has looked pretty likely as soon as the Storm showed they would be genuine title contenders and the likes of South Sydney, the Warriors, Brisbane and then the Roosters fell by the wayside.
Now that we have the two best teams duking it out for the title, an epic trophy decider awaits.
Their respective line-ups have undergone massive transformations since they met in the 2020 GF. Back then the Panthers were the rookies on the big stage and the Storm swamped them from the get-go.
This time around Penrith have the premiership DNA embedded into their team from top to bottom and Melbourne are the upstarts who are trying to bring down their more experienced opponents.
Now that any hope of a dark horse contender emerging from the pack has been removed, all that matters now is 80 minutes to decide whether Penrith can become one of the all-time great teams with a fourth straight title or will the Storm rain on their parade.
With Nelson Asofa-Solomona likely to be suspended, the Panthers should have the edge but Craig Bellamy has never once cared about external viewpoints and despite being runaway minor premiers, he will claim underdog status to fuel an us versus them siege mentality.
5. AFB needed ASAFP
Addin Fonua-Blake replacing Royce Hunt in the pack is the only likely change for Cronulla’s roster next year.
It could be a game-changer for Fitzgibbon’s squad.
AFB’s arguably the best metre-eater up the middle in the NRL, particularly post contact.
Cronulla have been lacking a presence in the centre of the field since Andrew Fifita’s form faded after the 2016 premiership.
Roster building can be a painfully slow process, particularly when you’re a club like Cronulla not renowned as a preferred destination for free agents.
Fitzgibbon will have a team capable, if their key players stay healthy, of going all the way next year.
This season was always going to be a tough ask and ultimately they did well to make it as far as they did but not too many people will be surprised that they finished just short of the biggest match of the year.
The Kick: Ivan blows up over Bunker call
Penrith winger Sunia Turuva had a four-pointer disallowed midway through the second stanza when Luke Garner was ruled to have run an illegal decoy.
“Talakai’s played that big time,” said Cooper Cronk in Fox League commentary as he argued that the Cronulla defender had made a poor read in zoning in on the wrong runner.
Ivan Cleary was fuming over the call and called on the NRL to stand down Bunker official Chris Butler or the grand final.
“Terrible decision,” he said.
Cleary said Butler has “no understanding of what we’re trying to do” in running the play and added: “That worries me about next week if we’ve got that same Bunker official or someone going off the same script.
“Next week, biggest game of the year, I’d hate to see something like that happen.”
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