Penrith remain optimistic that Nathan Cleary will be cleared to play in Thursday’s clash with ladder leaders Canterbury in what shapes as a high-intensity fitness test before NSW name their squad for the State of Origin series decider.
The champion halfback played in the Blues’ 26-24 loss to Queensland in Perth last week, despite feeling a “pop” in his groin during the final training session, 24 hours before the game.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was confident it was not a major issue and his superstar son would be cleared to tackle the Bulldogs, which will be his only chance to test the injury under match conditions before Origin III at Accor Stadium on July 9.
The 27-year-old trained lightly on the weekend with Penrith’s Origin representatives but will need to tick more boxes this week before he is a confirmed starter in Thursday’s blockbuster showdown, eight days after he played in Perth.
“We’re hopeful – we just don’t know yet – but he’s been getting through his rehab,” Ivan said.
The coach said Nathan was “obviously a little bit compromised” in Origin II but “warmed into it, or just went after the game a little bit more” in the second half.
Nathan Cleary played in Origin II despite suffering a groin injury on the eve of the game.Credit: Getty Images
Penrith and NSW skipper Isaah Yeo felt Cleary’s prognosis was positive.
“I think it’s all right,” Yeo said. “Obviously it wasn’t ideal but he got through the 80 minutes in Origin, and we had a small session for the boys who didn’t go to NZ and the Origin boys, and he got through that sweet … I’d like to think he’s OK.”
The eighth Immortal, Andrew Johns, warned on the Sunday Footy Show that groin injuries were problematic and part of the issue was Cleary’s famous work ethic.
“Nathan has loaded up his legs – his right leg in particular – kicking so much in his early teens, and it’s around this time that your body can start breaking down,” Johns said.
Penrith forward Scott Sorensen has copped a two-game suspension.Credit: Getty Images
Ivan said Nathan had already taken steps to modify his training regimen and reduce physical wear and tear.
“We definitely pay a lot of attention to load management, and then that’s changed over the last 12 months or so, where he does a lot of visualisation in terms of his kicking,” Ivan said.
He said previously Nathan “would have kicked until his shoe came off, but he’s learned from experience now”.
“It’s probably always a bit of a challenge,” he said. “He loves kicking the footy, but … definitely load management is a factor, and something we just respect.”
Meanwhile, coach Cleary felt that back-rower Scott Sorensen had been “very hard done by” after copping a two-game suspension for a grade-two hip-drop tackle on Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zalezniak on Saturday.
“I think this year, you’ve heard enough coaches post-game confused about the actual hip-drop rule,” Cleary said. “I don’t even know who wrote it and when it was written. It’s very vague, and it’s nothing like why it was brought in.
“Scott made a tackle that is, in most people’s eyes, a classic rugby league tackle. No one saw it, even the player tackled didn’t think anything of it, Dallin, not any player on the field, not a referee, not a touch judge, not 18,000 fans.
“But someone got hurt, so we had to do a cold case and go back and try and find it … just because someone gets an ankle injury doesn’t mean someone’s got to be suspended.
“It’s unfortunate but, again, there’s plenty of other injuries in rugby league and if we don’t want anyone to get injured, and we want to suspend everyone for that to happen, there are accidents. I certainly believe that was an accident.”
Asked if the Panthers chose not to challenge the charge because it was too hard to win a case at the judiciary, Cleary replied: “That would be one way to put it, yeah.”
Had the Panthers been unsuccessful in convincing the judiciary panel of Sorensen’s innocence, the Kiwi international could have been suspended for three games instead of two.
