Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has implored the match officials to protect star halfback Nathan Cleary from the potential of an illegal South Sydney ambush on Saturday night.
The Panthers have been led to believe that the Rabbitohs, in an attempt to safeguard rookie fullback Blake Taafe from Cleary's towering floating bombs, have been privately planning an assault on the Penrith superstar to nullify the threat of his kicking game.
South Sydney have put a number of late or high challenges on Nathan Cleary after kicking the past couple of years.
It comes after the Panthers recently discovered that Rabbitohs officials made a series of complaints to the NRL after Penrith's emotion-charged victory against Souths in round 23.
The Rabbitohs asked the governing body for a please explain as to the way Penrith used “blockers” to restrict the ability of South Sydney markers from putting pressure on Cleary’s kick.
The Herald has learned that Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett, when coaching Queensland during last year's State of Origin series, also raised similar concerns with the tactics used by NSW to protect Cleary.
The Rabbitohs identified Isaah Yeo was guilt of an illegal block that went unnoticed by the referees when the two teams squared off at Suncorp Stadium three weeks ago, a game in which Cleary had ample time to put up his trademark floating bombs which led to several mistakes from Josh Mansour and Latrell Mitchell.
The Rabbitohs believe Penrith’s Isaah Yeo moves backwards to block Cameron Murray from putting pressure on Nathan Cleary during the round 23 game a fortnight ago.
Images from previous meetings between the two teams over the past two seasons show a number of incidents over which the Panthers raised concerns.
The most alarming was a high shot from Cleary's NSW Blues teammate Cameron Murray after a kick last year.
Ivan Cleary told the Herald that his son is constantly targeted by defenders after kicking, and believes more needs to be done to protect his playmaker.
“Nathan is targeted every match and often the contact is outside the current protection interpretations,” he said. “In fact, I don’t think we have ever received a penalty for a late hit, or unnecessary contact on him, which is extraordinary considering the amount of kicks he executes.”
Cameron Murray moments before a high shot on Nathan Cleary during a match last year.Credit: NRL Photos
Under the NRL's rules, blockers must be stationary or moving forward, and not able to change direction backwards or sideways.
South Sydney are well aware of the threat of Cleary’s kicking game and the danger of giving him time to executive his wide array of kicks.
It's why the Rabbitohs are making noise about what they deem to be the actions of illegal blockers around the ruck, changing direction to prohibit South Sydney's markers from putting pressure on Cleary.
Cleary’s kicking statistics are impressive, highlighting why South Sydney are hellbent on applying pressure. He has gone through the entire season without a ball being caught on the full in the in-goal.
Cleary also sits in fourth when it comes to putting up attacking kicks that aren't defused by the opposition.
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