NRL Finals 2021: Storm to target Nathan Cleary’s injured shoulder
He helped guide Penrith to the preliminary final, but Nathan Cleary will have a target on his back against Storm thanks to an alarming statistic.
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When word trickled back into the NSW coaches box the Blues brains trust knew it wasn’t good news.
They had seen Nathan Cleary land awkwardly on his shoulder after making a half break just 10 minutes into the second Origin but hoped for a positive outcome.
“I was probably more concerned than others in the box,” Greg Alexander recalled. Alexander was sitting next to Brad Fittler as his chief advisor. But Alexander, a Penrith premiership winner and current board member, knew that it was not only the Blues’ hopes which had taken a battering but also his Panthers.
“The report from (NSW and Penrith on-field trainer) Hayden Knowles was that he had more than likely subluxed his shoulder. It had gone out and gone back in again. Straight away we knew there would be problems and ongoing problems.
“He was adamant that he didn’t want to come off.”
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Cleary played down the injury at halftime telling Alexander he was OK. He played out the entire game as the Blues wrapped up the series with a comprehensive 26-0 win despite dislocating it again trying to make a second half tackle.
Cleary was ecstatic by the win but in the back of his mind was the brutal reality that his season may be over.
“He was happy but you could tell he had an injury that was going to sit him out,” Alexander said. “He was resigned to the fact but you couldn’t have known that. He didn’t show that disappointment.
“That’s just one part of his toughness to be able to put up with pain and manage himself through the game.”
Melbourne icon Billy Slater was plagued by shoulder problems of his own. The incoming Queensland coach praised Cleary’s resilience to be at the stage where he can play in a preliminary final.
“He has done a tremendous job to get back to where he is,” Slater said. “I don‘t know the extent of the damage but to have that sort of period out and then come back ... that is incredible. I know what it is like to play under those conditions and he has done a fantastic job. That puts him in another category - we all know he is a great player but he has certainly shown his toughness and very few signs of that hindering him.”
Off the back of last year’s grand final loss there is little doubt the Panthers have gone ‘all-in’ this year. Cleary has delayed what seems like inevitable shoulder surgery which – depending on the damage – could sideline him for the start of next season.
Tevita Pangai Jnr’s short-stint could have ramifications on an already tight salary cap with suggestions emerging players Spencer Leniu and Charlie Staines may be squeezed out.
After meeting with surgeons in the days post-Origin the Panthers opted to rehabilitate Cleary all in hope that he would be able to get through games. There was no guarantee his six weeks out would allow him to compete again this year according to Alexander.
“It’s as bad as it gets,” Alexander said. “There were still plenty of question marks if he would get back. He was positive, the medical staff were always relatively positive about him getting back.
“In everyone there was a bit of doubt he would get back at all.”
Maroons back-rower Kurt Capewell has been tasked with protecting the banged-up Cleary. The bodyguard role is one recently retired Roosters veteran Mitchell Aubusson knows all too well.
He was Cooper Cronk’s safety net during the 2018 grand final when a one-armed Cronk took on his former side Melbourne.
Aubusson knows exactly what is coming Cleary’s way as he prepares to face the Storm.
“I grabbed the edge I was on with Joey Manu and Blake Ferguson plus a few of our middles and I said ‘look at what Cooper is doing for us, he is going to open himself up to ridicule and criticism if it goes sideways,” Aubusson recalled. “I remember them going after him. They were calling out his name and he would mix up the position he was defending. When we felt runners were going at him we went harder at the attacker.”
The Storm were rattled as they drifted from their game plan to attack Cronk. A similar situation awaits them on Saturday. Christian Welch will add kick pressure while Storm hit men Kenny Bromwich and Justin Olam will zero in on Cleary.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said there won’t be a shift in focus this time around.
“We’re not going to change what we do well – what works for us,” Bellamy said. “We’re not going to change it because of what the opposition might have or might not have.”
Bellamy said Cleary’s defensive workload would be dictated by “how much ball we’ve got.”
Cleary has struggled defensively and has looked troubled by his shoulder at times. In his first 12 games before the injury he missed 20 tackles. He has missed 22 tackles from just seven matches post-Origin including six last week.
His dad Ivan said Nathan needed little reminding of what is coming his way.
“I don’t have to prepare Nat too much,” Ivan said. “He has played enough footy to know what is coming his way He expects whatever every week. I don’t think he goes into a game thinking anything else. Whatever comes he will deal with it.”
MOVING TARGETS
The missed tackle count for Nathan Cleary before and after his shoulder injury
Rounds 1-15: 20 missed tackles (12 games)
Round 22 v Dragons: 0 (missed tackles)
Round 23 v Rabbitohs: 1
Round 24 v Tigers: 7
Round 25 v Titans: 5
Qualifying final v Rabbitohs: 1
Preliminary final v Eels: 6
HOMING MISSILES
Justin Olam: 85 tackle busts (team-high), 22 offloads, nine line break assists
Kenny Bromwich: 28 tackle busts.
Christian Welch: 44 offloads (team-high)
CLEARY FUMES OVER NAMING AND SHAMING OF TRAINER
Penrith are planning to defend the $25,000 fine dished out to them which resulted in one of their trainers being suspended.
The Panthers were issued with the breach notice after trainer Pete Green requested that play be stopped to attend to the injured Mitch Kenny with Parramatta deep on the attack last Saturday night.
The Eels were filthy after play was halted as they chased the Panthers before losing 8-6.
The NRL whacked the Panthers with the breach notice and suspension because Green did not make an initial on-field assessment before asking play to be stopped. Green has been sidelined for the rest of the year while fellow trainer Hayden Knowles was issued with a warning.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said his club would be “defending it” and was disappointed Green had been publicly named.
Even though they plan to fight the charge, Green is unavailable to take on his orange-shirt trainer position on Saturday.
“He won’t because he has been suspended,” Cleary said. “We’ve had to make adjustments.
“It’s all good. It hasn’t disrupted our week. We care about our people here.
“We love Pete. He is a legend. We’re talking about a guy who is popular and outstanding at his job.
“We feel bad for both of our trainers involved, one of which was named and shamed which I just think is completely unfair. We kind of understand how [the NRL] came to that conclusion but at the end of the day, they were just doing their job.”
It was Green’s second strike this season which the NRL took into consideration when they dealt their punishment.
Green was issued a show-cause notice for stopping play for a similar incident involving Viliame Kikau back in round 14.
Kenny’s ankle injury is expected to sideline him for the rest of the season.
The Panthers were issued the breach notice on Tuesday and have five business days to consider their appeal.
THE 8 CALLS THAT LEFT EELS FUMING IN CRUEL FINALS EXIT
—Paul Crawley
The NRL will study on field referee audio as part of its investigation to try and determine if Penrith trainers acted in the spirit of the game when calling for play to stop to treat injuries on three separate occasions during Saturday night’s controversial 8-6 win over Parramatta.
But despite outrage at a series of questionable tactics from the Panthers and dubious calls going against the Eels, NRL head of football Graham Annesley fired up on Sunday in defence of the under fire match officials: “I thought the referee (Ashley Klein) and the bunker controlled one of the most intense games of the season extremely well”.
Annesley was adamant he was not dodging the controversy but giving match officials the respect of at least reviewing the match before making any judgments.
“If we are wrong I will be prepared to say we are wrong,” Annesley said.
“But I am just not prepared to say it yet.”
But Brad Arthur certainly didn’t hold back with his explosive post-match comments that Ivan Cleary’s previous rant about Wayne Bennett the week earlier had on this occasion delivered the Panthers “what they were after”.
Arthur was understandably upset at a lopsided 7-2 penalty count that went against his team, while some crucial calls marred what was otherwise rated the match of the season.
These included:
* Three times Penrith trainers called for play to stop when Parramatta was on the attack and had momentum.
* Will Smith called for high tackle in 40th minute, when he hits the chest/shoulder – Nathan Cleary kicks penalty goal.
* Clint Gutherson potentially stripped of the ball with three minutes to go _ no penalty or six again with Parramatta attacking the Panthers’ line.
* Ray Stone passes backwards from dummy half _ called a knock on.
* Mitchell Moses tackled by Jarome Luai without the ball on Eels line break _ no penalty.
* Paul Momirovski potentially knocks on ensuing Blake Ferguson grubber _ ruled backwards.
In particular, Luai’s interference on Moses was a blatant professional foul that should have resulted in a sin bin.
How none of the match officials spotted it is laughable.
Annesley said he had not had a chance to closely review every individual incident we mentioned and that would be done on Monday.
However, when told some of the calls were “howlers”, Annesley shot back: “We are kidding if we think that cost them the game”.
He said from what he saw live the Gutherson and Stone calls “fall firmly into this category of controversial decisions, not necessarily wrong. Depending on which way you look at those you could say they were controversial but I’m not prepared to give them up at this stage because I haven’t had a chance to look at them more closely.”
Told that sounded like a cop out, Annesley responded: “Well, it is not. It is the day after the game.
“I have watched the game live like you.
“But I can’t afford to jump to a conclusion without having a good close look at those things in replay because many of these things come down to a really close analysis.
“And you know more than anyone, when we are wrong I’m prepared to say we are wrong.”
The other issue that caused outrage involved the Penrith trainers’ stopping play on several occasions.
The most crucial was late in the match when Penrith’s Mitch Kenny went down with a foot injury in back play.
It seemed outrageous that the trainer called for time off given Kenny was nowhere near the play and the Eels were attacking Penrith’s tryline.
Kenny then limped from the field with assistance and Ivan Cleary said in his media conference the injury could be serious.
Annesley explained that the referee is caught between a rock and a hard place.
“There is no way that can be a criticism of the referee,” Annesley said.
“They don’t know whether a player needs immediate attention or not.
“And they have to accept the judgment of the people whose job it is to determine if a player is seriously injured.
“But that is why we review those things closely after and if we have to take action we do.”
He added: “There is a history of game taking action when trainers unnecessarily stop the game. And we will definitely look at those.”
Annesley agreed the match was one of the best game’s of the season: “That is why it is disappointing that again we jump straight to the referee.
“You are fully entitled to say you think those things are wrong and I am not disputing your right to say that.
“But equally you have to respect my right to say I want to look at them more closely before I cast a judgment.”
EELS LASH ‘WHINGEING’ PANTHERS AFTER CONTROVERSIAL LOSS
By Nick Campton
Penrith survived one of the all-time finals battles to down Parramatta 8-6 and earn another shot at Melbourne and a chance of avenging last year’s grand final defeat.
In what’s been a year of blowouts, the Panthers and Eels gave the NRL a throwback semi-final, a torrid, absorbing, brutal physical battle that went down to the final seconds.
The match was tryless from the 16th minute and scoreless in the second half and the Eels had a final shot at victory in the 78th minute as they had one last set on the Panthers’ line.
But it wasn’t to be, with a Junior Paulo error cruelling Parramatta’s chances of pulling off a famous upset.
The Panthers may advance, but will turn up for the preliminary final battered and bruised after being pushed right to the limit by the gallant Eels.
NORTH BY NORTH WEST
There might never be another western Sydney derby played this far north, but that didn’t take away from the intensity or the controversy of the Penrith-Parramatta rivalry for a second.
The on-field action went close to boiling point more than once, and the tension continued after the match, with Eels coach Brad Arthur lashing the litany of stoppages from referee Ashley Klein following Ivan Cleary’s referee controversy last week.
“There’s been a bit of complaining over the last couple of weeks. They got what they were after on the back of the whinging,” Arthur said.
“They’re trying to make the game faster. How many stoppages were there today when we were on top? There was a lot.
“We have to move on. We had our chances. I can’t ask any more of them.”
BEAT THEM AT THEIR OWN GAME
In the opening exchanges, Parramatta did their best to pull a Penrith on the Panthers.
Much of the Eels play in the opening stanza came straight out of their rivals playbook — Mitchell Moses towering bombs gave Dylan Edwards the kind of nightmares Nathan Cleary usually delivers to opposition fullbacks.
Waqa Blake was on the spot to pick up the scraps before Cleary replied with a golden touch of his own as his delicate grubber bounced perfectly for Kurt Capewell to touch down.
PLAYER RATINGS: THE ‘OUTSTANDING’ EELS WHO DESERVED BETTER
Aside from a Cleary penalty right on halftime that was it for the scoring, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
The two sides both enjoyed periods on each other’s line throughout the second half, and threw plenty of haymakers, but neither would be broken.
This was less a game of winners and losers and more one of survivors.
PENNY LOW ON POINTS
Something has happened to Penrith’s attack at the worst possible time — in two full finals games they’ve scored just two tries, both off kicks.
But they say defence wins premierships for a reason, and the Panthers are one of the great defensive sides of the NRL era.
The Panthers were short on crisp passes and well-timed set plays, but their physical strength and indomitable will made the difference.
They’ll have to do it again next week to upset Melbourne, and after a long season, a heavy Origin campaign and two brutal finals that may be a tall order.
“It was fitting we had to win with a defensive stand,” Ivan Cleary said.
“You’re not going to win too many tight games scoring 40 points. That’s not really how we do it. We’ll back our defence, but we’d like to score more points.
“We’re in a prelim against the reigning premiers. Where else would you want to be?”
Cleary said the Panthers were expecting winger Brian To’o to return for the preliminary final but will likely be without Mitch Kenny after the interchange hooker suffered ‘a pretty serious injury’.
HOLD HEADS HIGH
The cold, hard fact is this — the Eels have once again fallen in the second week of the finals, the fourth time in five years they have fallen at this hurdle.
But Arthur’s side should hold their heads as high as they can — despite ending up on the wrong end of the scoreboard, this is the best finals performance they have produced in years.
There were little moments that went against them — makeshift hooker Ray Stone made two errors at dummy half in the second half, and they barely had a shot at the Panthers line until the dying stages.
But Parramatta can always improve their skills or execution. They cannot play with any greater heart than what they showed on Saturday night.
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