Incredible Nathan Cleary act stuns NRL world as Panthers purr in Las Vegas thriller

Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary wowed fans with an incredible act which flew under the radar in Penrith’s Vegas triumph.

A laser-focused Nathan Cleary stole the show in Las Vegas on Sunday, leading from the front in the Panthers’ 28-22 win over the Sharks at Allegiant Stadium.

Cleary finished with 26 run metres, a linebreak assist, a try assist and four crucial goals, however, the stats don’t do his stellar performance justice.

A Cleary masterclass was always on the cards as the halfback was locked in from the opening minute in his first game back from shoulder surgery.

And one moment that was missed by many showed just how focused the Panthers superstar was.

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After Daine Laurie scored in the corner to take the Panthers’ lead up to six points with just under half an hour to go, Cleary had a massive kick from the left-hand touchline to try and extend the lead to eight.

“These are the kicks that can break your heart. When it’s 16-10 and you’re up against a great side you’re still in it,” Michael Ennis said in Fox Sports commentary.

“But when they land these ones and pull away by 8 it just dents the spirit and takes a little out of the tank. If Cleary can land this it will be a huge blow.”

However, as the halfback ran in to take a shot at goal a rowdy fan threw an object at the star halfback, with the item landing on the ground right in front of his foot.

You can watch the incredible conversion in the player above.

Cleary, however, stayed cool, calm and collected, tossing the rubbish to the side, taking two deep breaths, running in and slotting the kick right over the black dot.

“Ohhh Nathan Cleary too good, absolutely too good,” Andrew Voss said in Fox Sports commentary as he nailed the conversion.

And the NRL world was equally impressed by Cleary’s composure and his all-round performance.

“We don’t really need it, but this is the ultimate proof of Nathan Cleary’s mental strength, focus, discipline and belief in his processes,” one fan wrote on X with a video of the sideline conversion.

“Just love watching Nathan Cleary play rugby league,” another wrote.

“If you want to argue that Nathan Cleary isn’t the best player in the game ATM go ahead, mount a losing argument,” a third said.

While others were blown away by his “masterclass”.

Nathan Cleary starred in the Panthers’ win over the Sharks. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

However, despite Cleary’s incredible display, it was anything but a straightforward win for Penrith.

And after the game Panthers coach Ivan Cleary joked that the match had resulted in a few more grey hairs.

“(I got a) few more grey hairs, definitely tonight, if you thought that was possible,” Cleary said after the game.

“There’s enough rust in that performance to do that.

“Obviously when you lose players, you can talk about that or you can talk about the guys you still have. We have probably five or six players in our current team that will be Panthers’ hall-of-famers.

“If you’ve got that many players of that calibre … you’re still in a pretty good space.”

Originally published as Incredible Nathan Cleary act stuns NRL world as Panthers purr in Las Vegas thriller