1 hour ago
1
Talisman Penrith half-back Nathan Cleary has defiantly claimed that Penrith’s premiership dynasty is not over yet, despite the Panthers’ hopes of sealing a historic five-peat were extinguished on Sunday evening.
The Brisbane Broncos came back to seal a last-gasp two-point victory against Penrith at the Suncorp Stadium to book their spot in the NRL Grand Final next Sunday.
Questions have arisen over whether the Panthers have lost some of their mojo this season, after Ivan Cleary’s side got their 2025 campaign off to a bumpy start, losing five games on the bounce following their season-opening victory against the Sharks in Las Vegas.
On Sunday, the Panthers came out of the blocks firing, with Paul Alamoti crashing over for a brace of early tries in the first half.
However, the resilience of the Broncos shone through, with Kotoni Staggs, Xavier Willison and Deine Mariner all touching down in the second half to seal the 16-14 victory.
In the dying embers of the match, Cleary sat back in the pocket and attempted to boot a drop goal from 40m out.
Footy star Nathan Cleary (centre) could have landed himself in hot water over a strike on Ezra Mam during Penrith's defeat by the Brisbane Bronocos on Sunday
Mam (right) had tackled Cleary (left) late and the Penrith star appeared to close his hand and strike Mam across the face, though the hit was made with only minor force
The Broncos were too quick out of the blocks, with the half-back unable to slot the kick.
‘It's obviously a pretty difficult one when you're trying to score a try and you're 20 metres out and you've got to get all the way back,’ the halfback said.
‘It just didn't quite work out.’
Cleary, meanwhile, may be in hot water after he appeared to catch Ezra Mam on the face with a closed hand.
Mam appeared to tackle Cleary late after the 27-year-old had disposed of the footy.
The Penrith champion playmaker appeared angered by Mam’s late hit and appeared to close his fist and move his hand towards the five-eighth’s face, shoving him back.
Mam was less than impressed with Cleary’s act, shoving him in the face multiple times.
Cleary escaped a sin bin, but was given a talking to by the referee over the act.
Mam reacted by shoving cleary (left), incensed by the Penrith star's shocking act
But Cleary wasn't sent to the sin bin over the punch, despite being given a dressing down by the referee
And some fans on social media were left fuming by the incident.
‘You fogetting Nathan Cleary throwing a punch? Clenched his fist and deliberately smacked Mam!’ one X user said.
‘NRL, so you cna throw a punch but only if you are Nathan Cleary,’ another added.
The Kangaroos star is unlikely to cop a ban for the incident, which would have ramifications for Australia’s upcoming Ashes tour to England.
Despite that flashpoint, Cleary was left heartbroken at full-time, holding his head in his hands as he walked up and down the pitch.
‘Wasn’t meant to be... disappointed but thank you to everyone for the continued support,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘Very proud to be a part of this team and excited for what’s to come in the future.’
Taking stock of Penrith’s recent successes, Cleary added during his post-match press conference: 'It's a horrible feeling, losing, being knocked out.
Some fans were left incensed by the referee's decision not to immediately punish cleary
THe Penrith half-back (left) and his dad refused to state that their side's premiership dynasty was over
'I just haven't felt that in a while. I definitely don't want this feeling again.'
But both he and his father defiantly stated that Penrith’s premiership dynasty wasn’t finished.
'What's over?' coach Cleary said.
'I'd like to think there's more in us. Obviously we're not going to win it this year, but we definitely showed a fair bit to fight back from a poor start (this year).
'There's probably some lessons in there, but ultimately we were just not quite good enough this year.
'But I feel like we got some real strides with some young guys this year.
'The core of our team is still going to be there next year. Hopefully they use this feeling, which we haven't had for a while, to spur us on into next year.'
Nathan agreed with his dad.
'I'm excited for the future. I wouldn't say anything's over yet,' he said.
