Nathan Cleary has provided Panthers fans with a welcome update heading into the NRL finals after he was spotted joining in at training on Tuesday. The superstar halfback hasn’t played the last two weeks after dislocating his shoulder against the Melbourne Storm, but is targeting a return in week one of the finals.
The Panthers haven’t provided much of an update about how Cleary’s rehab is going, but on Tuesday he gave a clear indication he’s tracking well. In a video posted by the Panthers on social media, Cleary could be seen taking part in warm-up drills – including a makeshift game of soccer.
And Cleary’s abilities caught the eye of girlfriend Mary Fowler after he was captured scoring a goal. After the Panthers tagged Fowler and asked her to weigh in on his form, Fowler replied: “Technique: 10/10. Celebration: 11/10.”
The video only captured a small moment of the training session, but the fact Cleary was running around and showing no signs of worry about his shoulder is certainly good news for the Panthers. It remains to be seen how much work he did on the park on Tuesday, but the fact he was cleared to take part in some drills is certainly a good sign.
The Panthers’ premiership hopes will rest on Cleary’s fitness, and how well he can play through the pain of his shoulder issue. Speaking last weekend about the shoulder, he told Channel 9: “It’s about a seven at the moment. It’ll be a 10 in a few weeks.”
Cleary has form of playing through shoulder injuries in the finals, with the same situation occurring in 2021. He also suffered a knee injury early in the 2023 grand final, but kept playing and masterminded one of the greatest comebacks in an NRL decider ever.
The Panthers can win a fourth-straight premiership if they go all the way again in 2024, and players insist they’re as hungry as ever despite coach Ivan Cleary admitting concerns. Penrith thrashed the Rabbitohs in Round 26, but suffered rare back-to-back defeats in the two games prior.
