‘Had a dozen schooners’: NRL star’s ugly blooper
An NRL star has been left looking like a park footballer after a “deadset scary” moment that left TV commentators guffawing.
Nathan Cleary returned to the NRL with an explosive bang on Friday night — unfortunately for Dragons fullback Jack Bird.
Bird was left looking like a park footballer early in the Dragons’ battle with the Panthers in Brisbane when he was the unfortunate soul at the other end of a “monster” Cleary bomb.
The NSW State of Origin halfback made his long-awaited return for the Panthers after his serious shoulder injury and he made an immediate impact as Penrith raced to a 16-6 lead at half time.
He had several classy moments as the Panthers made the Dragons pay despite St George Illawarra enjoying the better field position and possession rate in the first half.
However, it was his first down-field kick of the game that had people talking.
His bomb went straight down the throat of Bird, but the former Broncos star was left looking lost when the Steeden began to swirl on its way down to the ground.
Bird was lucky to get his fingers to it in the end — but, at least, his fumble bounded backwards off his chest.
NRL great Mick Ennis said on Fox League Bird looked like he’d had a “dozen schooners”.
“He looked like a bloke in the pub who said to Nathan Cleary, ‘Mate, I could catch one of your bombs’,” he said.
“And Nathan’s gone down the park, he’s ripped up a torpey and the bloke looked like he’d had a dozen schooners trying to catch that ball.”
Fox League’s Andrew Voss described the kick as “deadset scary”.
“It’s a spiralling monster,” he said.
“Bird is thinking, ‘What is this? Is that space junk coming out of the sky?’, it came from that high.”
It was just the beginning of a tough night for the Dragons as they left the field at the end of the first half looking lost as a result of their struggles to score points.
It was only a piece of individual magic from Zac Lomax that allowed the Dragons to get on the board in the first half.
The classy centre gifted Mikaele Ravalawa a try with a freakish flick pass through three Panthers defenders.
But it was the Dragons’ only moment of celebration in a tough opening 40 minutes.
Originally published as ‘Had a dozen schooners’: NRL star’s ugly blooper
Read related topics:NRL Live Scores