Inside the moment that proved Panthers star Nathan Cleary is back — and killed off the Roosters

Nathan Cleary sounded a warning to the rest of the NRL with a dominant performance against the Roosters — and there was one aspect of his game that was most pleasing for the Panthers star.

If you needed validation that Nathan Cleary could care less about his bung shoulder, this was it.

If you needed hardened evidence that the champion halfback was ready to lead Penrith to a historic fourth consecutive premiership, all you need to do is go back to the 31st minute of Friday night’s carve-up of the Roosters.

Champions deliver big moments and this was it.

In the context of the Roosters mini-comeback after half-time, it was huge.

Receiving the football on the fifth tackle and 35 metres out from the Roosters tryline, Cleary leaned into what he intended to be a punching kick down field.

Instead, the typically busy Connor Watson speared into the kick and charged the ball down for his retrieval behind Cleary’s back.

GO BEHIND THE MOMENT WITH DAVID RICCIO IN THE VIDEO ABOVE

The moment Connor Watson charged down a Nathan Cleary kick. Picture: NRL Photos

As Watson chased down the bouncing ball, Cleary turned on a dime and began to run.

Cleary hasn’t played a game of NRL in a month. Everybody knows finals footy is played at an even quicker pace than the regular season.

He had every right to be short of breath.

Most would’ve backed Watson to score after collecting the footy 15 metres from the tryline. Cleary never gave up though, cutting Watson down five metres shy of the white stripe.

Nathan Cleary never gave up in his chase on Connor Watson. Picture: Fox Sports

Nathan Cleary cut Connor Watson down five metres from the tryline. Picture: Fox Sports

Had Watson scored, the Roosters would’ve got the try they needed to cut the scoreboard back to 22-6 at halftime.

Think about what that could’ve done to the scoreboard pressure when the Roosters bounced into the second half with two quick tries to bridge the gap to 24-10 with more than half-an-hour remaining in the match.

Instead, Penrith rallied around Cleary’s effort-play.

They turned the Roosters away from the desperate first-half try they needed.

And as is often the case in rugby league, reward comes from effort. The next set, the Panthers rolled down field and kicked a penalty goal to push their lead out to 24-0-nil.

Nathan Cleary and the Panthers celebrate during their win over the Roosters. Picture: Getty Images

“I particularly liked the charge-down play and how quickly everyone got back for that,” coach Ivan Cleary said after the match.

“We just had that look about us tonight where we were connected and hungry and that goes a long way to winning big games.”

The key moment from Cleary was one of many highlights in an immense comeback.

He kicked the Chooks to death, bamboozling the Roosters back five, be it with floating bombs that had Daniel Tupou reeling or rolling kicks into the in-goal for teammate Luke Garner to score.

Nathan Cleary was all smiles after Penrith’s win. Picture: Getty Images

By halftime, Cleary had laid on two crucial tries, he had four tackle busts, five tackles and never more important, zero missed tackles.

After 80 minutes, Cleary finished with a total of one missed tackle. That’s the statistic he’ll be proud of most.

Don’t doubt it any longer.

The Prince of Penrith is back and title number four is within reach.