Penrith go top as they shoot down Cowboys

Penrith moved to the top of the NRL ladder as halfback Nathan Cleary took care of the undermanned Cowboys.

Penrith’s Nathan Cleary attacks the Cowboys line at Panthers Stadium on Sunday. Picture: Brett Costello

Nathan Cleary threw the ball in the air, pulled out an imaginary shotgun and took aim. Shots fired.

Penrith moved into top spot on the NRL ladder on Sunday afternoon as the North Queensland Cowboys became the high-flying Panthers’ latest victim,beaten 22-10.

Cleary was the architect of their demise as much as anyone, the Penrith and NSW No 7 lifting his side with his defence in the second half and then putting the Cowboys to the sword with his attack in the dying seconds.

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In fairness, the game was in Penrith’s keeping as Cleary slid over, although undermanned North Queensland kept them honest. The Cowboys counted Michael Morgan, Valentine Holmes and Jordan McLean among their absentees.

All up, more than $3 million worth of talent was on the sidelines for North Queensland. They played above themselves, giving coach Paul Green reason for hope as his youngest players were among his best.

Fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, one of three teenagers in the North Queensland squad, beat seven Penrith players on his way to the tryline as the Cowboys levelled the scores heading into halftime.

Young half Daejarn Asi scored a try as well, the highlight of a promising debut. In the end, even Green conceded that Cleary was the difference as he scored one try and had a hand in two others.

“A very good lesson for our young halves with the way Cleary played tonight,” Green said. “Controlled the game very well and took his chances when he got them.”

Cleary missed two games when the competition resumed after being caught out telling fibs to the NRL integrity unit. In his absence, there was talk that Parramatta half Mitchell Moses might usurp him for a NSW jersey.

The pendulum has well and truly swung back Cleary’s way. Moses is now absent — through injury — and the only deception from Cleary is being used to hoodwink opposition defences.

“I think he probably led the way in terms of refusing to lose,” said Ivan Cleary, Penrith coach and Nathan’s father.
“I think he changed momentum in a number of different ways today, whether he is No 7 or filling in at 13. It was Origin-like. I was really proud of him.

“From a leadership point of view, he sensed we needed something. I am not going to take any credit for that. He did that on his own.”

The signs were ominous for the undermanned Cowboys as the Panthers dominated possession and territory in the early going.

It was no surprise when they cracked it for the opening try in only the sixth minute as Cleary’s kick on the last tackle was batted back and finished in the hands of Jarome Luai.

Cleary hit the post with his conversion but the Panthers maintained a vice-like grip on the game. The Cowboys gritted their teeth and stayed in the fight and they got their reward with three minutes remaining in the half through a piece of individual brilliance from Tabuai-Fidow.

The Cowboys then hit the front early in the second half as Jake Clifford kept the ball alive and Asi did the rest, spearing over. It was time for Cleary to step up.

He had a hand in Brent Naden’s try that levelled the scores, then belted Cowboys secondrower Coen Hess with a jolting tackle, teammates rushing in to congratulate each other as the momentum shifted yet again.

“I thought we were trying to play too pretty,” Nathan Cleary said. “I thought the only way to turn that around was with defence. I let the instincts take over and got a bit fired up. I thought I had to take that upon myself.”

Nathan Cleary breaks through the Cowboys defence at Panthers Stadium

Midway through the half, Tyrone May slipped a pass for Steve Crichton to score and Penrith were in front. Again, the Cowboys lifted.

“Some of our defensive efforts in recent weeks have clearly been way, way off the mark,” Green said. “Tonight I was pleased from that point of view. But it was also a good lesson for some of our younger guys tonight.

“We turned up ready to play. I felt at times the game was there for the taking.”

Cleary took it. He came up with another huge play as he found a way out of his own in-goal when he appeared to be surrounded by Cowboys players.

Fittingly, he had the final say as he sliced through. The Panthers were on top, not just of the Cowboys but the entire competition.

“It is no prize but I guess we have earned that spot through how we have played,” Ivan Cleary said.
“It does set us up. It is just what we do from here.”