‘Sick’ Cleary shines in Panthers win

Sydney: Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary overcame an infection that required a hospital visit to help his side down an error-prone South Sydney 20-12 on Thursday night. After an impressive three-game stint, Souths fullback Latrell Mitchell had an off night, marked by four handling errors and a late visit to the sin-bin.

He wasn’t alone though as his team coughed up plenty of ball, making 12 errors and conceding eight penalties as well as badly losing the contest in the middle of the field. Penrith had enough chances to win by plenty more but let a few chances go begging.

Souths coach Wayne Bennett said no one plans for that sort of error and penalty count.

“They just controlled the ball better than we did, gave themselves better field position and that’s the opportunities you get,” he said. Cleary was in Nepean Hospital for six hours on Thursday with cellulitis, requiring antibiotics and scans to make sure the infection hadn’t spread. The swelling was impressive and may have contributed to his shaky night with his goal-kicking.

Shots as goal aside, he was exemplary and carved over for a late try to ice the win. He busted six tackles and ran for almost 100 metres.

Panthers crossed after just eight minutes when Viliame Kikau batted back a kick and Jarome Luai fired a ball to an unmarked Brent Naden, back in the team due to a

Josh Mansour knee injury, to cross out to the left.

NRL.com