Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has declared son and champion halfback Nathan a certain starter for Sunday’s preliminary final against Newcastle.
asserted
Nathan → declare → Newcastle
Nathan Cleary is recovering from a stress-related bone issue in his right kicking foot, an injury he suffered in the qualifying final win against the Roosters.
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he → recover → Roosters
The Panthers co-captain trained without incident on Friday night.
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captain → train → night
The club has attempted to prevent the media this week from obtaining images of Cleary training by plastering tarpaulin around the club’s training base.
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club → attempt → base
“He’s going well, definitely handy to have that week off there.
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He → go → week
So he’s good,” Ivan Cleary said of Nathan during his pre-game press conference on Saturday.
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Cleary → ’ → Saturday
“He’s done the work, so looking forward to seeing him out there.”
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He → do → him
Jack Cole has been named to partner Nathan Cleary in the halves, despite Jack Cogger - named on an extended bench - being available after serving a suspension.
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Cogger → name → suspension
Ivan Cleary ruled out the prospect of his son starting off the bench.
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son → rule → bench
“No, Nat’s ready to play,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
“He’s obviously carrying an injury, but there wouldn’t be many players out there at the moment for any team that aren’t.
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that → carry → team
It’s just that time of year, but we’re super confident that all our players are ready to play.”
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players → ’ → year
Cleary said it was too early to determine whether Nathan would be fit for Australia selection for the season-ending Rugby League World Cup.
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Nathan → say → Cup
He added there was a chance the halfback’s foot was fractured, but MRI scans are often inconclusive.
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scans → add → ?
“There’s basically enough on there that there’s something wrong,” he said.
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he → ’ → there
“But to you’ve got to go by what I think is called ‘clinically’ - how does it feel, can you walk, etc.
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you → get → think
So we’ve basically worked out enough that it’s an injury that could get worse, for sure, so we’re trying to manage it as best we can so he can play so we can get him to play …
uncertain
him → work → it
Yeah, he’s done a bit of everything.
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he → do → everything
He’s actually living with us at the moment, so I’ve actually seen firsthand how much he’s actually done.
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he → live → much
It’s crazy, yeah.
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It → ’ → ?
He has left no stone unturned.”
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He → leave → stone
Sam Walker played through the pain of a syndesmosis injury that required surgery less than a month ago in the Roosters’ preliminary final win against the Dolphins on Friday night.
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that → play → night
“This is what the players dream about,” Cleary said.
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Cleary → dream → what
“It’s what they go through all the hard work in pre-season for, and all through the year, to get themselves into this sort of arena.
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they → ’ → arena
So, they’re all true competitors and they find ways to get out there and perform.”
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they → ’re → ways
Cleary paid tribute to the Penrith medical staff who had made a slew of stars available for big games.
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slew → pay → games
Fullback Dylan Edwards was nursed through a serious foot injury in the 2021 finals series, while Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo (pectoral) have defied the odds to figure in the 2026 play-off campaign.
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Cleary → nurse → campaign
“The medical team’s amazing,” Cleary said.
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Cleary → ’ → ?
“Their job is way more than just treating people - there’s a lot of decisions to make, even like reading scans and trying to work out what’s the best course of action.
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what → treat → action
“It’s not like a normal person where you treat them with the utmost care; you’re sort of trying to throw them out on a footy field as well if you can.
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you → ’ → field
It’s pretty cool to see how it all works.
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it → ’ → ?
We’ve got good chemistry through our staff, and we’ve been together for a fairly long time, so I think that helps as well.”
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that → get → time
Cleary said a 25-6 loss to Newcastle at Carrington Park in Bathurst last May - a result that consigned the Panthers to last place at the time - was a pivotal moment.
uncertain
that → say → time
“Oh, that was awful, that game,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“That was our turning point last year, because it was sort of the day where we just went, ‘right, this is not good enough.
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this → go → ?
We are what we are, and it’s not very good.’
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it → ’ → ?
I mean, the Knights, they’ve been amazing.
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they → mean → ?
“They’ve got a team that’s overcome a lot of things this year.
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that → get → things
They’ve got a young team with a lot of players on the way up and having the best seasons of their lives.
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They → get → lives
They’ve got amazing support behind them.
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They → get → them
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
