Three-time premiership-winning Penrith Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary is back and back with a bang after helping his side to victory over the Dolphins with a booming field-goal in golden point.
It was a game.
A really good game.
The Dolphins came to play and the Panthers, as they do, found a way to jag the win.
Cleary hadn’t played in the NRL since round 10 when he limped off the field before half-time in a win over Canterbury-Bankstown 16-10.
On Sunday afternoon he was up to his old tricks.
His best was the booming 45-metre field goal that sank the Dolphins.
Penrith roll on.
Isaiya Katoa is still probably at home licking his wounds after refusing to take a shot that would have put the Dolphins ahead in regular time and probably wins them the game.
This Sunday, the Panthers party heads to Wollongong to face the 9th placed St George Illawarra Dragons.
This is where it gets interesting.
A new Sunday challenger in the Big Red V.
If the Dragons learnt anything from the Dolphins loss against the mighty Panthers, it’s that you must take your chances and take them over and over again.
Cleary has been the missing piece in Penrith’s hopes at winning a historic fourth-straight title.
The fact he kicked the winning field goal waters down how Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins broke him down defensively as he came back from injury.
“I didn’t know (the field goal went over),” Cleary said after the match.
“I kicked it and to be honest I didn’t kick it as sweet as I could but I knew it was straight and then as it was in the air, Kenny turned around and started running at me.
“I was still watching it hoping it would get over and then when it went over it was pretty surreal.”
This is where the Dragons have a shot.
When the Saints are rolling, they are very difficult to stop.
They now understand their winning formula.
Bennett’s Dolphins were almost perfect with their completion rate against Penrith.
The Panthers were nowhere near their clinical best with their completions but it didn’t matter because the Dolphins didn’t play enough despite losing in golden point.
But completion rates are the great oasis in the NRL Sahara.
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan would have watched every play, every fly on a boot, every drop off sweat from the forehead of the referee.
If he was watching, he would have seen what the Dolphins did to a rusty Nathan Cleary defensively on the weekend.
The great halfback has work to do.
On Sunday, the Dolphins scored four tries and all of them targeted Cleary on his right-side.
In the 7th minute, the Dolphins went hard and early from 30 metres and found Cleary out of position.
The pass itself beat the pivot and he rushed to cover but couldn’t save it.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow try.
Six minutes later, the Dolphins went right and changed the direction inside to Felise Kaufusi back toward the posts and with a quick play-the-ball went back to the left. Cleary then over-commits and Katoa takes the space on the inside and eventually beats Daine Laurie to score.
The Dolphins kept going.
Tabuai-Fidow beats Cleary on the outside to score again.
In the second half, Dolphins winger Jack Bostock got over to score after the visitors shifted left. It all looked so simple.
Looking back, the fact was the Panthers defensive line didn’t talk.
Nobody communicated.
They wall went up and they got beaten.
The ball went right passed the Australian and New South Wales representative and the Panthers didn’t commit to anything.
Fact is, Penrith have more players back this week.
Another fact is, Nathan Cleary will be better than he was defensively last week.
But there’s something there for the Dragons.
On the back of a 2-1 run with wins against the Dolphins and Broncos into a bye – Dragons fans should at the very least feel good about walking into WIN Stadium against the imperious and clear favourites in the Panthers.
Penrith have their eyes on September and rightly so.
The Dragons also need to be perfect on Sunday.
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