Nathan Cleary returns in style as Panthers blow away Roosters with first-half blitz

Nathan Cleary has turbo-charged Penrith’s pursuit of a fourth-straight NRL premiership as the Panthers booked a preliminary final berth by manhandling the Sydney Roosters on the way to a 30-10 win. In their farewell game at Panthers Stadium before its redevelopment, Ivan Cleary’s men ensured the 21,483 packed into the venue went home happy after a one-sided qualifying final victory over the Roosters.
And in a further encouraging sign for the Panthers, halfback Cleary showed no hints of rust on Friday night on his return from a shoulder injury. Penrith’s No 7 was given an early mark, taken off with four minutes to go as the Panthers earned the right to enjoy a week off before their preliminary final at Accor Stadium.
“He was outstanding. He makes such a big difference with the confidence he brings to our team with the way he plays,” said his coach and father Ivan Cleary. “He’s got this knack to come back and click straight into gear.
“Up against Angus [Crichton], who’s arguably the best back-rower at the moment, is a fair task. He went about his business really well.”
Cleary kicked the Roosters off the park and had a hand in three of the Panthers’ tries.
The Roosters, meanwhile, will be licking their wounds after being battered into submission in the opening half hour. Trent Robinson’s side were off the pace from the get go and will now face the winner of the Canterbury-Manly elimination final in a sudden death encounter.
The Roosters played with no real direction in attack and their defence lacked any sort of aggression or venom in the first half as the Panthers raced out to a 24-0 lead at the break. Halves duo Luke Keary and Sandon Smith were regular targets for the Panthers, and without Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Victor Radley the Roosters had nobody to hold their gloves up to the home side.
“In the first 20 minutes we had one six-again and three errors which gave them field position and they just executed really well,” said Robinson. “I felt like our contact was poor and theirs were good.
“I felt like we were going to them and they were winning the physical battle and definitely on tackles three, four and five, they were bumping us back on multiple occasions. So that was disappointing.”
On their very first set, Penrith rolled upfield as the Roosters’ defensive line hung back passively to allow Cleary to make easy metres. He then put a bomb up that was dropped by the usually dependable Daniel Tupou, and Brian To’o scored on the ensuing set.
A Cleary chip kick glanced the upright and was scooped up by Izack Tago for the Panthers’ second, with Jarome Luai and Luke Garner crossing to inflict further damage. Cleary added a penalty after the introduction of Naufahu Whyte and Spencer Leniu from the interchange bench had stemmed the Roosters’ bleeding.
The Roosters showed some semblance of a fightback with tries to James Tedesco and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. But errors continued to haunt Robinson’s side, who haven’t beaten the Panthers in 10 successive games.
Another defensive lapse allowed Dylan Edwards to make a break and soon afterwards Cleary rolled a grubberkick into the in-goal. Garner was quickest to act, sealing victory and putting the Panthers 80 minutes from yet another shot at grand final glory.