NRL 2024: Wigan coach Matt Peet predicts Nathan Cleary will be ‘best player of all time’ ahead of World Club Challenge

Ahead of the World Club Challenge, Wigan Coach Matt Peet has heaped praise on Panthers star Nathan Cleary – but is it all just mind games?

Wigan coach Matt Peet has paid Nathan Cleary the ultimate compliment, predicting the Penrith star will go down as the best player this game will have seen when his career is over.

Just four days out from their World Club Challenge clash at DW Stadium, Peet showered the Panthers co-captain, as well as his coaching counterpart, Ivan Cleary, with praise.

“If you ask me, he’s going to go on to be the best player of all time,” Peet said of Nathan.

“He’s certainly the best player in the world at the moment … a lot of what he does what is so special and so excellent, is his game management.”

Peet also said Cleary’s ability to persevere through tough periods distinguished him from other halves, citing his unforgettable final 20 minutes in last year’s dramatic grand final comeback.

Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet predicts that Nathan Cleary will go down as the best player this game will have seen when his career is over. Picture: Getty Images

“He doesn’t let people, or the scoreboard, take him off his game,” he said.

“He knows what works for him. He knows what works for his team. And he sticks to it.

“I thought that grand final was the ultimate symbol of that. He didn’t deviate from what I would think was the plan going into game, they still stuck at it and stuck at it.

“And even when they went behind they had belief in the processes and their principles. And you know, it paid off in tremendous fashion with a few moments of brilliance as well.”

Cleary training in Warrington ahead of the World Club Challenge. Picture: Joseph Richardson

Cleary’s ascension is in stark contrast to his direct counterpart in Bevan French.

A lack of opportunities with Parramatta forced the tryscoring winger to the Super League, where he transformed into a well-rounded halfback and was crowned Man of Steel.

In French’s final NRL appearance at the end of 2018, Jarryd Hayne was wearing the No.1 jumper and Mitch Moses had the No.7 on his back.

“Sometimes players come over from the NRL and the timing at whatever club they’ve been at just wasn’t quite right,” Peet said.

“Sometimes (they’re) the backup to unbelievable players who are at the peak of their powers, and just they just don’t quite get the break at the right time of their careers.”

Peet said French had flourished with more responsibility.

“He’s still got that innate ability, instincts he had when he was 11, 12 years old,” he said.

“But coupled with that, some of the things we’ve talked about Nathan Cleary, Bevan’s managed to build some of that into his game, which is a testament to him.”

At 28 years of age and off-contract this year, French is primed for a comeback to the NRL.

The Tingha product was close to reuniting with Eels coach Brad Arthur last year, but ended up staying in England and leading the Warriors to the title.

Wigan star Bevan French reveals he almost returned to Parramatta in 2023, but opted to stay in England, leading the Warriors to a Super League title. Picture: Getty Images

“I had a brief chat with Brad, small chat with (Clint Gutherson). There was a lot of chat around that,” French said.

“There was a lot of things happening away from rugby league at that point in my life with family, which Wigan really helped me out a bit.

“When you’re choosing, it all has to fall into place perfectly if you want to go back and be a week in, week out player.

“I’d like to think my time here has put me in a good position to be NRL ready again. I know I’ve improved a lot from when I first left. It’s just about picking the right time.”

Peet said he also had the utmost respect for his opposition coach in Ivan Cleary.

“When he returned to Penrith, the lessons he learned from his time there and time away, the way he implemented that,” he said.

“(He) stuck true to his core values, wants the team and the club to represent the town, lives in the town, the challenge he has as well of coaching his son.

“He doesn’t seem like one of those people that tries to over-complicate the game or try and impress people with the way he speaks, he just comes across as a humble bloke.

“I don’t think you get a consistent winning team in a salary cap sport without a leader who has something special about him.”

Originally published as NRL 2024: Wigan coach Matt Peet predicts Nathan Cleary will be ‘best player of all time’ ahead of World Club Challenge