Nathan Cleary may very well not be human.
At just 26, the three-time premiership winner, NSW Origin veteran and Australian World Cup winning halfback has just about done it all, but his magnum opus was the 2023 NRL Grand Final.
After suffering a knee injury a hip drop tackle from Broncos enforcer Payne Haas in the 10th minute of the game, which was missed during the match, the Panthers’ dreams of a three-peat appeared to be evaporating following Ezra Mam’s hat-trick to open up a 24-8 lead.
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But with 20 minutes remaining, Cleary took his side on his back and dragged them to a 26-24 victory, scoring the final try himself after stepping through the Broncos’ defence.
The knee injury was only revealed the following day.
And now we know just how bad it actually was.
Cleary suffered a PCL, or posterior cruciate ligament, injury. The injury is most common during car crashes when the knee hits the dashboard, according to Harvard Medical School.
As Cleary and fellow injured teammate Jarome Luai returned to pre-season training this week, Panthers physio Pete Green said the injury would have meant a two month lay-off if it happened during the season.
“They call it the dashboard car injury, where if you have a head-on accident it can typically damage or rupture that ligament, such is the force involved,” Green told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Had it been during the season, and what time of year it was, he could have come back half-done in two or three weeks, or you come back properly in six to eight weeks.
“Considering he has travelled around a fair bit with little rehab, he was in remarkable shape.”
Panthers second-rower Mavrik Geyer added: “He is looking good, and he already looks like he’s in for another great year — he looks like he’ll go until he’s 40.”
Cleary, who has been seen with Matildas star Mary Fowler as speculation rages over a potential relationship between two of Australia’s best athletes, was pictured with a knee brace after the pair went public during their loved up appearance in a Perth park in early November.
It was reportedly a grade three sprain, which is a complete ligament tear, as per the NRL Physio Twitter account.
The NRL Physio, Brien Seeney added Cleary will “Will play the rest of his career without a PCL in that knee – the likes of Benji Marshall, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Shaun Johnson & more played for years with torn PCL’s.”
He added: “PCL injuries not like ACL’s in that players rarely undergo surgery. Usual recovery – rehab & a 3-6 week return. Cleary is already back running at training.
“Makes his man of the match GF performance even more remarkable considering he played 70 minutes with an acutely torn PCL!”
As for Haas’ tackle being just fined rather than suspended, Seeney said: “ … the direct contact from the Haas tackle wouldn’t have done the damage here. Cleary’s knee into the ground is the culprit, which could really happen in any tackle when going to ground.”
Before the news emerged, Seeney spoke on his Magic Sponge podcast, put the stunning performance in context after Cleary was ruled out of the Pacific Championships.
“You’re looking at a moderate to high grade PCL injury, for him to do what he did, in particularly in the last half an hour, but just to play out the whole game with that injury and to perform like he did,” Seeney said.
“He would have had to have gone in at half time with that injury and cooled down – and that’s when it’s going to be really painful, it’s going to swell up a little bit. Then he’s going to have to go out there. (Isaah) Yeo’s off, (Jarome) Luai’s off, all these things that we know.
“But to do all that with whatever this injury is, and it sounds like a moderate to high grade PCL injury, is just … it probably won’t get the fanfare that a broken face from Sam Burgess or a fractured shoulder blade form Cooper Cronk did. But I think it’s a bit under-appreciated.”
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