Cleary resets for ‘a whole new ball game’
NSW coach Brad Fittler interrupted a media scrum to ask if his star player, Nathan Cleary, was completely healthy after Penrith’s gritty win over the Roosters.
Barely 30 seconds later, the greatest to ever pull on the No.7 jersey, Andrew Johns, gave him a fist bump, to which Cleary replied: ”You need to stop praising me so much.”
The hype around Cleary’s performance in the Game Two win in Perth has largely been driven by the eighth Immortal, who was left in awe of what Penrith’s prodigious playmaker has been able to produce.
“It’s very flattering, but you can’t get too carried away,” Cleary said of the praise.
“I feel like there’s still a long way for me to go to get better as a player and as a leader. I’ve worked a bit in camps and we speak on the phone pretty regularly about different things. He’s always great support for me, and he’s obviously a good sounding board being the GOAT.”
As good as he is right now, Cleary said there was plenty to improve and that he was aware that Queensland counterpart Daly Cherry-Evans would be a different player in the decider after he steered Manly to a shock win over Melbourne to start the round.
Cleary was criticised following the series-opening loss, but was then lavished with plaudits after he ran in two tries and set up a couple more as he and the Blues ran all over the Maroons in game two.
“You’ve got to start again because what happened in
Game Two means nothing now,” the champion halfback said.
“It’s a good foundation to build off, but I’ve got to start again. Games One and Two were so different so you can never fall too in love with yourself and you can never hate yourself after a bad game. You’ve got to keep on that plateau and always try to improve and not read into what other people are saying.”
He says he’s looking forward to the “great challenge” of trying to orchestrate the first NSW victory in a decider in Brisbane since 2005, and while the side will remain largely settled from the one that got the job done last week, there is still a huge question mark over who will line up in the centres.
Matt Burton is the frontrunner to stay on the left edge after his dream debut, but the return of Latrell Mitchell from injury and Jack Wighton from Covid will make life tricky for Fittler and the NSW brains trust
“I’m glad I don’t have to pick the team. It’s a good problem to have. With those four centres, I’m confident whoever they put there will do a good job. It’s a tough one,” he said.