Ivan Cleary admitted he has “never felt so under the pump” during the Broncos’ charge while Nathan Cleary revealed lessons from the 2020 grand final inspired his performance for the ages.
The Panthers went down 24-8 in the second half, with Broncos young gun Ezra Mam stunning the reigning premiers with a hattrick of tries.
That left Penrith with 24 minutes to reel in Kevin Walters side and spark the greatest ever grand final comeback in NRL history.
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But even Cleary wasn’t convinced his side could get the job done.
“I’ve never felt so under the pump for ages as we were in that second half,” Cleary said in the post-match press conference.
“The Broncos probably had the better of at least the middle part of the game and deserved to be in that lead.
“Over the course of this last few years we’ve won enough games and built enough belief that when we get our momentum going, and getting our game on, good things will happen.
“But I will admit, I was a little worried halfway through that second half.”
Cleary was asked point blank if he thought his side had given up the chance at recording an elusive three-peat when Mam crossed for his third four-pointer.
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“A fairly big part of me was leaning that way, one thing I never doubted was these boy’s ability to keep fighting,” Cleary said.
“It’s just one of those games where you get one back and things can change, there was still a long time to go and I think that was an important part.
“Once they hit the front and we started coming back they probably didn’t play as much footy as they were, (before that) they were just zinging it around the park.”
Meanwhile, Nathan delivered one of the all-time great grand final performances and reflected on what led him to this moment.
The first grand final the Panthers featured in during their dream run came in 2020, facing a red-hot Storm outfit.
On that night, Melbourne’s superstars Cameron Smith, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Cameron Munster blew a young Penrith outfit off the park.
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By halftime, Cleary’s team trailed 22-0 and impressively clawed the scoreline back to 26-20 after 80 minutes.
“It was nice to finish on a high, to be honest I think my experience from the past, particularly that 2020 Storm grand final, helped me to be in the game at the end,” Cleary said.
“Sometimes things feel s**t at the time like it did in the 2020 grand final, but I think it’s made me who I am today.”
He was asked if he felt “rattled” after the Broncos took a commanding lead, and he admitted he remained calm this year.
“I wouldn’t say rattled, I would say disappointed with what I was doing, I mention that 2020 grand final again, I was rattled that night,” Cleary said.
“I think that has helped me in moments like tonight, I thought our belief and chat behind the line.”
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