Panthers confident Nathan Cleary will overcome groin concern to play next week
The Panthers are confident that superstar halfback Nathan Cleary will be fine to face the Bulldogs next Thursday despite the NSW No.7 battling through a mystery groin issue in the Blues' shock loss to the Maroons in Perth.
Cleary gave up the goalkicking duties on Wednesday night and it proved telling as Zac Lomax missed several sideline conversions and a two-point field goal as NSW went down 26-24 to set up a decider.
The champion halfback had a compression bandage on his right leg and kicked just three times in the first half as Jarome Luai and Latrell Mitchell picked up the slack.
Luai sent his first kick sailing out on the full, with Cleary then taking over in the second half where he had 11 kicks for 295m, while he also ran five times.
Cleary took the line on a couple of times in the first half and had a try disallowed for obstruction, but the Blues need him to be 100 per cent for the decider given they're already without the injured Mitch Moses.
NSW coach Laurie Daley insisted his chief playmaker wasn't in any doubt, with the Panthers expecting Cleary to take on the Bulldogs next Thursday.
The Panthers desperately need him to play the ladder-leading Bulldogs given they are one point outside the top eight and will be without their Origin stars for the game against the Warriors.
'He just felt a bit tight in his groin, so we wanted to limit the amount of force that he put through there,' Daley said, with Cleary not named for Penrith's trip to New Zealand this weekend.
'He's a tough kid. We know what a quality player he is, but he's tough.
'His groin was tight, but he got through OK.'
Meanwhile, new Queensland captain Cameron Munster said he was hurt by the criticism that coach Billy Slater copped leading into the crunch game in Perth.
Slater's selections were questioned – but all proved to be masterstrokes – while former Blues prop Aaron Woods called him a 'grub', which led to Slater referencing the late Paul Green at an emotional press conference the day before the game.
The Maroons coach apologised to Green's family on Wednesday morning, with his players lifting to ease the pressure as they kept the series alive in the driving rain.
'I played with Bill. He is a champion player and a champion coach and I have had a great relationship with him and still do. We are really close mates,' man-of-the-match Munster said.
'When you have someone jabbing him like that, it really hurts. It hurts me personally and I never tell him that. I will tell him now, I love him.
'I just want to do the best thing for him and the best thing for Queensland. He's not doing this for him, he's doing this for Queensland, and he loves Queensland.
'That's the reason why he's so passionate, and when you have someone like that at the top, you want to play for him. At the end of the day … he's the reason I want to play.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
an hour ago
- Herald Sun
‘Something's not right': Laurie Daley's blunt admission as NSW rage over brutal penalty count
Blues coach Laurie Daley and captain Isaah Yeo have expressed frustration at a lopsided penalty count in NSW's 26-24 loss to Queensland in Perth. NSW were on the wrong end of a 10-2 penalty count that was eight to nil in the first half. It sparked a furious reaction from pundits who criticised referee Ashley Klein's officiating of the match. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Daley was blunt when asked what he thought of the penalty count. 'I can't tell you what I honestly think, so I'm not going to,' Daley said. Yeo, meanwhile, admitted the Blues were at fault for a number of penalties but believed they were on the wrong end of a host of 50/50 calls. 'There's certainly a few that we were shooting ourselves in the foot with and they were just penalties,' Yeo said. 'Other ones are 50-50. Some nights you get them, some nights you don't. So what you can't do is you can't go drop the ball early in the next set early in the tackle count when you've got the ball. 'So obviously I'd like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemy at times as well.' The Blues also disagreed with the decision to place Blues half Jarome Luai on report for a suspected eye-gouge. 'I thought it was a facial, I didn't see it up in the footage,' Yeo said. 'They put him on the report, but he didn't say why. I thought it was a face shot, so I thought there was a fair few of those in the game.' 'We saw a fair few of them in game one too,' Daley added. Yeo, however, admitted the Blues were their own worst enemy in a performance littered with ill-discipline. 'We just couldn't get out of our own way at the time, and they had all momentum,' he said. 'We probably had momentum through the middle of the field in that second half, but you can't do that to a pack like that. 'We just compounded too much. We would finally get the ball back, and we'd drop the ball early. You just can't miss the jump like this.' Isaah Yeo and Laurie Daley didn't say much, but said it all. Daley said ultimately the Blues did not deserve to win. 'It certainly was a rollercoaster, we just let ourselves down in the first half,' Daley said. 'I just think we just missed the jump with just like completion. 'Like, it really was just errors and penalties, and just compounded, and we just made it really hard for ourselves. 'We showed what we are capable of doing in the second half, but you can't play a half like that against a quality opposition and expect to be close. 'It was a good lesson. Go back to the drawing board, prepare well and go back to Sydney. It's one-all, so we will see how we go in game three. 'I think when we look at the video we will see opportunities, but I think we created, I think five tries to four, but I just get back to discipline, completions. 'We were nowhere near the mark in the first 40, so that was disappointing, but I was proud of them, obviously in the second half. 'They dug deep and showed everyone what they're capable of doing, but you've got to go two halves. You know, it's an old cliche, but it's true.' Daley also paid tribute to the Maroons and said the criticism of Queensland went too far during the week 'We knew what we were going to come against and they delivered,' Daley said. 'And the amount of criticism that they received, which was way over the top, we just knew that they were going to be better. So, we got to be better, and we will be better.' We're off to a decider. Photo byDaley, however, refused to be drawn on Billy Slater's turbulent 24 hours prior to the match. 'I'm not dodging the question, but I've just been focused on the group,' Daley said. 'I really have. I haven't really discussed anything. I just know that my energy's been channelled into the players 'I don't really know. And to be fair, when I'm in camp, I don't read papers. I don't go near them, because I just don't want to know what's going on in the world. And I don't know what's going on in rugby league as well. I wouldn't be able to tell you what's happening.' Daley also revealed Nathan Cleary was battling a groin injury which prevented him from goalkicking duties. 'He just felt a bit tight in his groin, so we wanted to limit the amount of force that he put through there,' Daley said of Cleary. 'So he's a tough kid, Nathan. We know what a quality player he is, but he's tough and his groin was tight, but he got through okay.' 'And as I said, I have got to take responsibility because we started well, but the first half wasn't great. So, I got to look at what I've done, because something's not right.' Originally published as 'Something's not right': Laurie Daley's blunt admission as NSW rage over brutal penalty count
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Brisbane Lions attempt to win in Geelong for the first time since 2003
A 22-year winless run at a stadium is enough to make any team cower —but not the Brisbane Lions. The Lions have made a habit of breaking hoodoos under Chris Fagan — and they are determined to tick off the final item on their list. ABC Sport is live blogging every round of the AFL and NRL seasons in 2025. ABC Sport is live blogging every round of the AFL and NRL seasons in 2025. Brisbane has not won at Geelong's Kardinia Park since round six, 2003, with now-Cats coach Chris Scott kicking the match-sealing goal for the Lions that day. Will and Levi Ashcroft were not born yet, and since then, it has been 13 straight losses ahead of Friday night's blockbuster. "We've had a lot of those things over the years," Fagan said. "It's been 20-odd years since we've won here at this ground. The last couple of times we've played here, they've been close games. "So as we've become better as a team, we've been able to challenge Geelong a little bit more. "But it all starts again tomorrow night. We're obviously looking to break through that milestone and they'll obviously be trying as hard as they can to stop us." In recent seasons the Lions ended an 11-game losing streak at the MCG in 2022, snapped a 15-game run against Richmond in 2020 and an 11-game losing streak against Sydney in 2019. Under Fagan, Brisbane also ended poor runs against West Coast, Geelong and Adelaide. Fagan said the Lions "had a bit of fun" with their various hoodoos. "We've done that from the day I arrived at the club because we couldn't beat anyone," Fagan said. "It's true, we were struggling as a football club back then. "We just looked at various teams we hadn't beaten for a while and set ourselves to do that. I think that's a reasonable thing. It's all part of goal setting and striving. "And we've ticked off many things over the last few years, including that one about the MCG, we couldn't win there. So that's all part of being competitive." The Lions (9-4), who have lost two on the bounce, travelled to Victoria a day early, on Wednesday, and were relieved they had made that choice after dealing with multiple delays. Fagan believed low pressure numbers against GWS were an "outlier" but poor goal kicking had been an issue in that game and against Adelaide. "That's the one glaring thing at the moment that's hurt us in the last couple of weeks," he said. Star small forward Charlie Cameron has kicked 12.14 and just one goal in the past month. Fagan insisted Cameron's contributions elsewhere had been important. "It's been up and down from a goal kicking sense but we'll back him in," he said. The reigning premiers will also be "patient" with Kai Lohmann, who has had a similarly up-and-down year. Fagan confirmed veteran defender Darcy Gardiner will come in to replace Jack Payne (knee). AAP
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘That's a nice moment': Billy Slater's changeroom act with wife says it all
Billy Slater looked like a very relieved man as Queensland hung on to win a thrilling State of Origin Game 2 and force a series decider. The Maroons defeated NSW 26-24, withstanding a ferocious second half charge onslaught in Perth as the Blues threatened to pull off the greatest comeback in Origin history after trailing 26-6 at halftime. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. NSW scored four tries to none in the second half and you could almost hear Slater exhale a sigh of relief as time ran out for the Blues to score a matchwinner. 'I think Billy's expression summed it up pretty well at the end there, he'd be disappointed with the second half,' Darren Lockyer said on Nine. 'I think we (Queensland) were guilty of looking at the scoreboard once we came back out after half time, we just lost our intensity and we stopped playing footy.' The Queensland coach's back-and-forth with Aaron Woods this week nearly overshadowed the game after the NSW forward called Slater a 'grub' and Slater hit back at Woods. Slater later apologised for bringing up the death of ex-Queensland coach Paul Green in response, which he said was 'not appropriate'. 'Yesterday I wrongly made the link between Paul Green's death and the stress and pressures of coaching, which wasn't accurate,' he said. But Queensland's performance, especially in the first half, proved the war of words didn't derail their preparation. Slater's job may well have been in danger had Queensland lost Game 2 and a second series in a row, which would not have gone down well north of the border. The 42-year-old cut a relieved figure in the sheds post-game, sharing a hug with his wife Nicole after a tense build-up that would have taken its toll. Slater leapt up from his chair to greet his wife and they shared a lengthy embrace in touching scenes. Nine's James Bracey said: 'There's a nice moment Billy with wife Nicole, who made the trek over yesterday to be alongside her hubby, who got the job done. 'And of course it's Billy's birthday, happy birthday Bill. It's the ultimate present.' New Queensland captain Cameron Munster was named man of the match and gave an impassioned tribute to his coach post-game. 'With all the pressure and criticism that Billy Slater has been getting, we're just glad we played for him tonight,' Munster said on Channel 9. 'He deserves everything, he loves Queensland and he loves this group. 'There's been a lot of speculation in the media, we needed to turn up for our coach tonight and we f***ing did.' In their post-match press conference, Munster again backed in his coach in an emotional address. 'When you've got jabs or blokes in the media having a go at your coach, at the end of the day he is our coach and he has done everything he can and ticked the boxes for us,' Munster said. 'We didn't perform for him in Game I and he got a lot of slack for it and a lot of stuff in the media and he didn't deserve it. 'I played with Bill, he is a champion player and a champion coach and I have had a great relationship with him and still do. We are really close mates. 'When you have someone jabbing him like that, it really hurts. It hurts me personally and I never tell him that. I will tell him now, I love him. 'I just want to do the best thing for him and the best thing for Queensland. He's not doing this for him, he's doing this for Queensland and he loves Queensland. 'That's the reason why he's so passionate and when you have someone like that at the top, you want to play for him. At the end of the day … he's the reason I want to play.' Munster said he didn't need to address the team about the controversy involving Slater and Woods in the lead-up. 'No, I didn't have to. Rightly so, the boys would have seen it on their phones, media, whatever it was,' Munster said. 'At the end of the day when someone is having a jab at someone from your own backyard you stand up and want to get up and fight. 'We needed to do that tonight, we were backs against the wall, no one gave us a chance. 'When you have guys nitpicking and jabbing at your coach, it's not him, it's the players who go out there. He's given us a great game plan and we didn't execute in Game I. 'We did it tonight in the first half … but just so proud of us as a group that we had to play for him.' Slater was momentarily stunned by the comments from his former Storm and Queensland teammate. 'That's the nicest thing he has ever said to me,' Slater said. 'No, I don't know. I know the game, I'm in the game, I understand it. Sometimes things get pushed to the boundary but it hasn't influenced how I look at myself. 'And who I am as a person, I am very comfortable with who I am. I know who I am, I know who these guys are and there's been a real togetherness about the group. 'That was what I was talking about with the position switches, starting, bench, it doesn't matter. Everyone is a player of this footy team. 'That's what Queenslanders do, they do it together, I'm not talking disrespectful to any other states. But when something happens they all pull together and look after each other. 'Whether it's a flood, or a cyclone, a bushfire, they all pull together and help each other out.' 'We probably put it on ourselves, we didn't play great footy in the first game and as media journos you have got to create stories,' 'We improved tonight but we have so much more improvement to do because we can't afford to dish up that stuff we did in the second half. 'If it's a dry track it could have been a different story … we just can't keep blowing leads like that.' Slater will have led Queensland to a third Origin shield from just his fourth season in charge if the Maroons can win the decider in Sydney on July 9.
