Penrith coach Ivan Cleary says superstar captain Nathan suffering no ill effects from serious head knock

Nathan Cleary walked from AAMI Park dazed on Thursday night, but his coach gave some positive information in the aftermath of Penrith’s loss.

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary is hopeful there will be no lingering effects for superstar halfback Nathan Cleary outside of his compulsory 11-day stand down for concussion.

Cleary sustained concussion just eight minutes into the grand final rematch against Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on Thursday night after colliding awkwardly with Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes and landing heavily.

Cleary said the early signs were positive for his son, but the Panthers will miss him for their clash with South Sydney Rabbitohs next Thursday night, which they will enter with a 1-2 record after the 30-24 loss to the Storm.

“Yeah, he seems OK,” Ivan Cleary said.

“He remembers the incident, so that’s a good thing.

“So, yeah, hopefully he feels the same way tomorrow.”

Nathan Cleary is assisted off the field. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

The Panthers almost pulled off a comeback for the ages against the Storm.

Trailing by 14, the Panthers never gave up, and at one point took an unlikely lead in a game where Brian To’o and Paul Alamoti scored two tries apiece.

Cleary was pleased with how the Panthers reacted to losing their chief playmaker.

“Yeah Im proud of the boys tonight,” he said.

“There were lots of things that we sort of didn’t help ourselves throughout the game .

“There’s clearly a lack of cohesion at times, which is understandable.

“But, I thought from a cultural point of view, they were very brave, just never stopped, particularly 14-nil down.”

“Obviously losing [Nathan], that’s a pretty big thing, not just tactically how the team goes, but obviously mentally and against obviously a great team down here and I just thought they really hung in.”

Nathan Cleary will not return tonight after suffering a concussion in this collision - came down heavily on his shoulder/head.

Deemed to have shown Category 1 (obvious) signs of concussion - means he will also be subject to NRL’s mandatory 11 day stand down & miss Round 4. pic.twitter.com/mSJL9gjdOk

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 20, 2025

Panthers captain Isaah Yeo was pleased with the response of his team to the Cleary concussion.

“I felt like when Nathan went down, that sort of could have gone either way,” he said.

“It’s a tough game down here against a really quality outfit and I thought we certainly didn’t shirk it.”

Winger To’o tried valiantly to drag the Panthers across the line.

To’o racked up a game-high 219 run metres and two late tries to set up a grandstand finish.

Cleary said Storm’s household names ultimately closed out the game better than his less experienced spine.

Yeo believes the Panthers will embrace the depth test with Cleary joining star fullback Dylan Edwards on the sidelines.

“We’re just excited about the challenge,” Yeo said.

“Winning is addictive and we’re certainly addicted to it and the success.

“So at the moment we’ve just lost two on the trot and we understand we need to be better, but I felt like we could take a lot from tonight.

“We’re really confident with how the season will go and we just need to get it back on track.”

Originally published as Penrith coach Ivan Cleary says superstar captain Nathan suffering no ill effects from serious head knock