Nathan Cleary’s regular season may be over but one veteran journalist believes the star halfback is primed for a final series similar to one of the game’s greats.
Initial fears the No.7 would miss the rest of the year, including finals, were quashed on Friday when he was cleared of needing surgery, with Penrith expecting their marquee man to be back for the finals.
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Speaking on Monday night’s NRL 360, The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield sent an ominous warning to the rest of the NRL, suggesting the 26-year-old “will find a way to do a Cooper Cronk.”
Rothfield is referring to former Roosters halfback Cronk’s heroics during the 2018 NRL grand final, which he played in with a broken scapula.
Cronk’s involvements in that game were minimal given his physical limitations, however it was remarked during the game that the Roosters were playing with “12 players and a coach,” highlighting Cronk’s importance in orchestrating that win over the Storm.
In the Roosters’ 21-6 win, Cronk registered no runs, no running metres, kicked just four times for 74 metres and made nine tackles, remarkably without missing a single one, but pulled off one of the greatest grand final feats of all time in pushing through excruciating pain to play.
Given the similarities in Cronk and Cleary’s game, with both men being incredibly intelligent organisers capable of instructing their team around the park and influencing the game even without ball in hand, Rothfield believes there is a possibility of the Penrith No.7 emulating Cronk’s feats.
The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read noted he’s not sure Cleary will be “100% but he’ll be in reasonable knick.”
However, the form of his halves partner Jarome Luai throughout 2024 should fill Penrith fans with confidence they can survive with an underdone Cleary.
In the absence of Cleary, Luai has stepped into the Penrith No.7 jersey and performed immensely, earning mass plaudits for a string of wonderful performances that ensured Penrith’s dominance remained without their star halfback.
“Jarome’s shown that he can take charge and lead the side around when Nathan’s out. He’s gone leaps and bounds this year,” Read said.
Speaking on 1170 SEN following Luai’s starring role in the NSW Blues’ victory in this year’s Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium Greg Alexander remarked; “(Luai’s) dispelled any question marks people had over him being a genuine seven and someone that can control a game.”
Luai’s importance will turn up a notch in the final rounds of the season, as well as during the first few weeks of finals, especially if Cleary’s shoulder remains a significant issue and he operates below 100% at the pointy end of the season.
However, where the Penrith No.6 won’t be able to shield his halfback’s injury is in defence, with league legend Gorden Tallis predicting Cleary’s “going to get a lot of traffic at him.”
“Cooper Cronk had to do it for 80 minutes of footy, he’s (Cleary) going to have to do it for four weeks of finals,” Tallis said.
Tallis’ comments echo those made by Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy ahead of the 2018 grand final.
“I don’t think we are going to chase him all over the field but if we can get someone close to him we are going to run hard at him, put it that way,” Bellamy said in the build-up to that year’s decider.
Despite Cleary’s injury cloud, Fox League’s Braith Anasta believes Penrith can “protect him throughout the finals,” before delivering a bold prediction.
“Nathan doesn’t need to be at 100% for them to win the comp,” he said.
Back in 2021, Cronk revealed he was “terrified” ahead of the 2018 grand final, unsure if he and the Roosters’ plan “was going to work.”
“It was the most nauseating time, I’m usually pretty interactive with people. I’m cool and calm and I go out and play,” he said.
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