Nathan Cleary’s “Andrew Johns-esque” masterclass against Brisbane – featuring a reprisal of his iconic grand final try, pivotal 40-20 and two try-assists – started with the simplest play of all.
“I was kick chasing for [Selwyn] Cobbo and the next minute he flew out of nowhere and threw his body at him,” Blues back-rower and long-time Panthers teammate Liam Martin said.
“You could see how much intent he went into the game [with], looking to get involved as soon as possible. When he’s doing that it’s great to watch because you just see the sort of game he can put on.”
The game Cleary put on shaped Penrith’s most impressive performance of the season and rekindled hope of a finals run by the four-time premiers ahead of Saturday’s clash with North Queensland.
Cleary’s “10 out of 10” showing at Magic Round had pundits in raptures, too – not least Johns himself, whose reaction to Cleary’s first-half 40-20 was captured behind the scenes by Channel Nine’s social media team.
The most lavish praise of all came from Bulldogs boss Phil Gould, though, who saw distinct shades of Johns’ famed physicality and leadership in Cleary’s display at Suncorp Stadium.
“This was as Andrew Johns-like as I’ve seen from Nathan Cleary, ever,” Gould said on Nine’s 100% Footy.
“From the opening minute, physically, mentally, skill-wise and physically in defence and physically in kick-chase, and all those other aspects, he led the team from the front.
“That was Andrew Johns-esque on the weekend.”
Johns himself has pinpointed the next stage of Cleary’s evolution as an elite playmaker centring on playing alongside developing teammates and “dumbing things down” to accommodate them.
Against the Broncos, that was seen in Cleary straightening up Penrith’s attack with his own running game, while Penrith’s ball-runners produced fewer unders lines back against the grain.
“When he’s taking them on, he’s such a damaging runner when he’s on,” Martin said. “He’s not to be taken lightly and when he [runs] it only benefits the team.”
Australian front-rower Lindsay Smith added of Penrith’s dialled-down approach: “Every week, you’re trying to simplify things. Footy, as much as a lot of things go into it, it’s a simple game at the end of the day.
“That was a special Nathan Cleary performance. Any time anyone likes to get into the game physically early, that definitely goes a long way to performing well.
“Off the back of that, some of the plays he came up with and his kicking game was just sensational.”
Cleary’s performance came amid improved efforts right across the board from the Panthers heading into a pivotal Origin series when he, Martin, Isaah Yeo, Brian To’o and potentially Dylan Edwards will all be away on NSW duty.
“I think that was a really good stepping stone back to the footy that we play,” Martin said.
“I think the couple of weeks before that, we certainly hadn’t been getting the game on that we want.
“It’s really great to see, but you can’t take that for granted. We’ve got to do that again, work hard through the week and hopefully build from there.”
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