By Dan Walsh
Nathan Cleary’s grand final heroics with a shoulder hanging by a thread and what typically would have been a two-month knee injury have Penrith teammates hailing his most underrated quality as he closes in on an NRL finals return.
For all the platitudes and predictions he will match the playmaking feats of Andrew Johns and Johnathan Thurston over the course of Cleary’s three premiership wins, his sheer toughness isn’t often mentioned in the same breath as his prize-winning game management, kicking prowess and mastery of clutch moments.
Cleary has one last opposed session and an examination from several teammates to get through on Wednesday before making his return from a dislocated left shoulder against the Roosters on Friday night.
Cleary’s shoulder popped out of place against Melbourne in mid-August after he injured the same joint during pre-season, and he is expected to require surgery once Penrith’s premiership campaign finishes.
The 26-year-old famously steered Penrith to their 2021 title with a torn tendon in a right shoulder that he had also dislocated, while his incredible grand final performance against Brisbane in last year’s decider came with what was later revealed to a grade 3 PCL tear in his knee – which typically requires an eight-week recovery.
“I’d like to call him soft but no, he’s as tough as they come,” teammate Liam Martin said of his halfback’s ability to play through pain.
Nathan Cleary goes through his paces at training as he returns from a dislocated shoulder.Credit: Penrith Panthers
“That grand final just demonstrates that he has that will power to win and it’s pretty inspiring for the rest of us. That’s just who he is. Every time he’s [injured] he is just so eager to get back and help out the team.”
The dislocated shoulder suffered by halves partner Jarome Luai leading into last year’s final was considered worse than Cleary’s.
Luai was put through a barrage of tackling drills by Penrith’s fringe first-grade forwards before getting the all-clear and Roosters skipper James Tedesco said it was only natural to expect in-form back-rower Angus Crichton to make a beeline for Cleary’s left shoulder on Friday night.
“I think we’ll get Gussy running a few lines at him and test it out early,” Tedesco said. “It is probably a good tester for him, but he’s a massive part of their team.”
The mental toll of that physical assault proved tougher for Luai than the physical pain of tackling with his injured shoulder, and he was eventually replaced by Jack Cogger when last year’s grand final was in the balance.
But Cleary’s prowess when rugby league’s biggest games are there to be won, adds an intangible for Luai and his Penrith teammates.
“He brings this aura and he has this type of feeling that if the game goes down to the wire, we’re a big chance of winning because he’s there,” Luai said.
“If we’re behind on the scoreboard on any situation, we’re always going to be in the game [because of him]. That’s what he brings to this team – the belief.”