Ivan Cleary avoids NRL sanction over bunker take-down ahead of grand final against Melbourne Storm

Ivan Cleary slammed the bunker over a controversial no try decision in his side’s preliminary final win over the Sharks, but the Panthers coach will avoid sanctions from the governing body.

The NRL will not sanction Penrith coach Ivan Cleary for delivering a scathing rebuke of the bunker over a contentious obstruction call in Saturday’s preliminary final win.

The Panthers were denied a try to Sunia Turuva after bunker official Chris Butler determined that Cronulla’s Siosifa Talakai was impeded in the defence by the lead runner, Luke Garner.

Cleary was adamant that it was a poor defensive decision by Talakai and not an obstruction.

The normally reserved Cleary labelled the call a ‘terrible’ decision before expressing ‘anxiety’ that a similar scenario could unfold if Butler was in the bunker for Sunday’s grand final.

While the NRL won’t fine Cleary over the comments, CEO Andrew Abdo said speculation on appointments of match officials is “unhelpful”.

Ivan Cleary slammed the Bunker over a controversial no try decision in the Panther’s win over the Sharks. Picture: NLR Imagery

“Ivan is a great coach. After the game he doesn’t like to talk about match officials, which is something everyone should observe,” Abdo said on Sunday.

“Coaches or players making comments about individual match officials and speculation on appointments are unhelpful and detract from the focus being on the clubs and the players in the lead up to the grand final.”

It’s understood the NRL were most concerned that Cleary’s comments had tried to influence Butler from being named as the video referee in the grand final.

“That was a terrible decision and gives me a lot of anxiety around next week if that Bunker official [is there],” Cleary said after Saturday’s game.

“That was wrong. It’s been happening all year … that worries me next week if that Bunker official, either he or someone else is going off the same script, I’m concerned.

“I’d like to think I don’t talk about referees or Bunkers or things that I can’t control, but when Wayne Bennett, the best of all time, came out and said after the game against Newcastle - and he’s 100 per cent right - he said someone will suffer in the finals.

“It’s terrible. There’s no understanding of what we’re actually trying to do.

“Next week, the biggest game of the year, I’d hate for something like that to happen.”

But Cleary was also quick to walk back the comments and said: “I shouldn’t say that.”

The issue of obstruction was put into the spotlight on the eve of the finals series when Wayne Bennett questioned the role of the bunker, suggesting it should be scrapped, after the Dolphins were denied a try in their loss to Newcastle in round 27.

The development comes after halfback Nathan shrugged off concerns about his shoulder after leaving the field late in the game.

The star halfback proved his fitness by lifting his left arm and rotating the joint, with Cleary in no doubt for next week’s grand final against the Storm.

“It’s all good. I had a little knock at the end but I ended up playing out the next two sets and felt fine so it’s all sweet,” he said.

FITZGIBBON: ‘SIMPLE DECISION MAKING UNDER PRESSURE HURT US’

Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon can see things are starting to come together for his side, but he concedes they were taught a few valuable lessons in what it means to apply pressure in big games after they were beaten 26-6 by Penrith.

The three-time defending premiers are used to grinding out big games and knew when to lift in certain moments on Saturday night, but that’s something the Sharks struggled with as they produced just one line break despite being gifted plenty of opportunities by the Panthers.

Their season might be over, but the Sharks have come a long way with the club ending its seven-game losing streak in finals last week, with the arrival of Addin Fonua-Blake next year set to make them even tougher.

Craig Fitzgibbon’s side was taught some valuable lessons by the Panthers. Picture Thomas Lisson

“We’ve come a long way in the past couple of years and we’re getting closer. I’m super pleased with a large portion of how we were able to hang in, but we did a lot of it ourselves,” Fitzgibbon said.

“We got another understanding of what pressure is and how you assert pressure and how you apply pressure and how you keep a plan and stick at it.

“We didn’t do that well enough tonight so that’s what ends up happening to you. It gets away from you.

“Our ability to hang in has been questioned over the past couple of years, but we’re getting a lot better at that.

“There are a lot of pieces that are starting to add up that are required for this time of year, but we’re going to have to go and earn all of them again next year.”

Fitzgibbon described the Panthers as a team in the middle of a dynasty while his side is still developing, but you could tell how much this one hurt the former representative forward who admitted “I hate losing” after the game.

Sharks captain Cameron McInnes speaks to players after their defeat. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

The frustrating thing for the Sharks is that they didn’t play with the same fluency they’ve shown all year, with halves Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes combining for just five runs.

“I don’t think we followed the plan as well as we did the week before,” he said.

“Simple decision making under pressure (hurt us), but what happens is Penrith apply the pressure so you’ve got to be crystal clear on what the objectives on how you want to play are.”

Skipper Cameron McInnes had the steely look of a man who wished he could start the new season next week, with the workhorse lock not content on just making the final four.

“It’s not just that we’re happy to be here,” he said.

“We know that we’ve got so much in us. At times tonight we felt like we were getting the upper hand, but a couple of moments (hurt us) and that’s massive this time of year.

“They’re big learnings for us but it’s also really disappointing because you don’t just want to be here. Effort’s not enough, you need to ice your moments. We’ve got to learn, and we will.”

CLEARY ADDRESSES INJURY SCARE AS PANTHERS SECURE GF SPOT

The Panthers are into their fifth grand final in a row following a scrappy 26-6 win over Cronulla, but there are some concerns over Nathan Cleary’s fitness with the superstar halfback in doubt for next week’s Storm showdown after he appeared to aggravate the shoulder injury which sidelined him for three weeks.

Cleary experienced shoulder instability during the pre-season and missed three weeks before the finals after he hurt his left arm against the Storm in round 24.

The world’s best playmaker returned in week one of the finals but is now in doubt for the decider after he was forced off with five minutes to go after he made a try-saving tackle on Kayal Iro.

Nathan Cleary has produced a near perfect performance, to help secure a fifth straight grand final appearance for the Panthers. Picture: Getty Images

Cleary was able to play on for a couple of minutes before he was replaced by Brad Schneider who is the obvious option if he is sensationally ruled out.

In some good news for Penrith, the superstar played down any fears that he is in doubt for the grand final despite injuring his troublesome shoulder.

Cleary sent a scare when he aggravated his injured shoulder late in the game and was eventually given an early mark. The Panthers halfback looked in pain after he made a try-saving tackle on Cronulla centre Kayal Iro.

Cleary clutched at his shoulder and was eventually taken from the field with half Brad Schneider playing out the final minutes of the clash.

However, Cleary said there was no chance he was missing the clash against the Storm.

“It’s all good,” Cleary said. “Just a little knock at the end there but I was able to play out the next two sets and I was fine.”

But Cleary was subbed off in the final few minutes after jarring his injured shoulder. Picture: Getty Images

The Panthers have a couple of other concerns with Mitch Kenny on report for a high shot on Tom Hazelton, while Liam Martin came off for an HIA in the first half but was able to come back on and score the clincher with two minutes to go.

FIVE STAR CLEARY

The injury shouldn’t erase what Cleary was able to do in the first 70 minutes as the halfback put on yet another clinic on the same field he produced the greatest 17 minutes of all time in last year’s grand final.

The Penrith No.7 was a class above on Saturday as he nailed a 40/20 and then produced a peach of a pass for Paul Alamoti to score the first of his two tries.

Cleary threw the final pass for Alamoti’s second and then took control of a breakdown in play to put in a centimetre perfect kick for Brian To’o to score.

FINISH THE STORY

They’ve been the most dominant team of the modern era, but the Panthers have one more thing to prove when they take on the team that beat them in the 2020 decider.

If Penrith avenge that loss and make it four titles in a row then no one can question whether they are the greatest team of all time given what they’ve been able to achieve despite losing so many stars.

But this will be their toughest test with the Storm’s spine firing on all cylinders in Friday’s big win over the Roosters.

The Panthers have become the first team in 50-years to qualify for five straight grand finals. Picture: Getty Images

NOT A SHARK ATTACK

They finally broke their scoring drought against the Panthers and then crossed for one of the most spectacular tries of the finals series, but the Sharks just didn’t fire enough bullets against a team that was there to be beaten.

After losing their previous two meetings by a combined 70-0, Cronulla settled the nerves with a penalty goal after 17 minutes but then had to wait nearly an hour to make their first line break.

The Sharks had an opportunity to mount a comeback, but their defence let them down as Panthers scored a flurry of late tries. Picture: Getty Images

It just so happened to lead to a stunning try in the corner as Sione Katoa did his trademark Superman dive to somehow plant the ball in the field of play, but fluent attack was their kryptonite as they lacked a spark in the wet.

Twelve errors didn’t help their cause, while Nicho Hynes had a try taken away for a knock on by Ronaldo Mulitalo earlier in the play, but the team that usually moves the ball so well just couldn’t get anything going.

So much focus followed their halves, with Braydon Trindall unable to back up last week’s attacking heroics, while Hynes didn’t kick until 30 minutes into the contest.

That narrative will dominate their off-season with Trindall’s future beyond 2025 up in the air.

YOU’RE TRIPPING

The Sharks were lucky not to lose a man to the sin bin on two occasions in the first half with Toby Rudolf and Siosifa Talakai both placed on report but avoiding time off the field.

Panthers players were irate when Rudolf stuck out his leg and tripped milestone man Isaah Yeo in the first half, while Talakai belted Jarome Luai in the back well after the five-eighth had let go of the ball.