To understand how much Nathan Cleary cares about Penrith, you only had to take a peek in the sheds more than an hour after full-time in last Saturday night’s pulsating preliminary final win over South Sydney.
Every Panthers player, coach and support staff had boarded the bus parked beneath Accor Stadium, except for one person – Cleary.
If anyone had the right to skip out early, it was Cleary after his starring performance.
But the representative halfback was quietly tidying up the sheds and placing empty bottles and rubbish into bins. There were no cameras, just Cleary and a pesky Herald journalist asking him what on earth was left to talk about heading into another grand final week.
It’s typical of Cleary’s work ethic. He’s also the last one off the training paddock, and even be known to stay behind up to 90 minutes working on kicking or passing drills.
He was at it again on Tuesday as he slotted field goals in the middle of BlueBet Stadium as his teammates started to shuffle across the road to the Panthers Academy for media commitments.
Even on the Sunday night before Origin I this year, Cleary was meant to pose for a photo with four other club captains in the NSW team – Isaah Yeo, Junior Paulo, Cameron Murray and James Tedesco – only to keep them waiting nearly half an hour while he trained on his own.
“I like getting my preparation right, and I know what I need to do for peace of mind heading into games,” Cleary says. “The last thing I want are any excuses or regrets about what I didn’t do during the week.
“It’s developed over time. This is my full-time job, I want to give everything I have to it.
“Dad [coach Ivan Cleary] is also very hard-working and told me you need to work hard if you want good things to come. I’m definitely a believer in that.
“I don’t know the latest I’ve stayed behind. A lot of the time I’m just slow to do things and like to take my time.”
Practice makes perfect: Nathan Cleary’s at training during the weekCredit:Getty
As for cleaning the sheds, Cleary says: “It’s just about respect. Mum and Dad always taught me that.”
When told about Cleary’s clean-up duty, Yeo said it was hardly a surprise.
“He’s the ultimate clubman, the ultimate team man and a wonderful leader of this group,” the co-captain says.
“If I’m being honest, I actually thought he was having a long shower the other night. He’s always one of the last to leave, and I don’t think he’s cleaning up every time.
“In all seriousness, I’m not surprised by him cleaning. That’s what he does.
“Even when we had our Fan Fest [on Tuesday], it was only a skill session, but he was also the last one out there kicking. That’s not for show. He does it every session.
“Nobody prepares better than him, there’s nobody more professional, and no matter what happens on Sunday, he knows he will have turned over every stone to make sure he put in his best performance.”
Panthers legend and NSW coach Brad Fittler said of Cleary: “What Nathan thinks is important he does.
“[As for training] I’ve always noticed the good ones have stayed back and had some fun and a kick. In those rep teams Joey would stay behind kicking and playing and getting dragged on to the bus. At the Roosters we’d stay back kicking and Mini [Anthony Minichiello] would be catching balls.
“Nathan seems to stay back and concentrate and train longer.”
Greg Alexander knows a thing or two about the Panthers No.7 jersey and winning premierships and he has been impressed by Cleary’s attention to detail.
“Nathan leaves nothing to chance – he’s willing to put the time in on and off the field … he’s willing to put the time in so whatever happens on the field is no accident,” Alexander says.
Cleary, 24, is arguably the best player in the game. He has grown up a lot, especially after the well-documented TikTok scandal during the first COVID lockdown in 2020. It feels like forever ago, but he learnt some harsh lessons.
“Something like that incident, you feel like you have to repay people,” Cleary says.
“It was the same as the [five-game] suspension this season [for a dangerous tackle], it’s something you’re not proud of, so you want to have good actions in the future to apologise for the past.
“It will be nice if we can win Sunday. It’s sweet any time you can win one. You dream your whole life about winning a competition. We were lucky enough to do it last year, and it’s one of the best feelings I’ve had in my life. I’d love to do it again.”
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