Cleary speaks on return from shoulder injury, admits to “frustrating” year
Nathan Cleary, who made a full recovery from a shoulder injury during Friday night’s game against the Sydney Roosters, said that the 2024 NRL season has been frustrating.
The lads from the foot of the Alps, who will now get a week free before playing in yet another preliminary final, were led by their halfback, who was involved in everything early on and ultimately produced a player of the match performance.
The halfback stated before the game that he was confidence in his shoulder, but he also acknowledged that it was important to have early contact following a disappointing year in which he missed a significant amount of time due to a hamstring injury, as well as the State of Origin series.
“In all honesty, I was fairly confident with that [my shoulder]. I did get a lot of work throughout the week. It was good to get a tackle early on, know it was alright and get into the game,” the star halfback said.
“I focused on winning this game. It was pointless to laze around. Even if I wasn’t participating, I still had to have a positive impact on the squad and work hard to present my best case. Although I’m pleased with how tonight went, we still have more to do.”
According to his father, Ivan Cleary, the club’s coach, his son’s ability to recover from an injury without missing a beatis a credit, and that he provides confidence to his teammates.
“I thought he was alright,” Cleary senior laughed.
No, I thought he was excellent. Not only does he play a great game, but he also instills confidence in everyone on our team.
“He has this talent for being able to step away for a bit and then return and go right back into gear.
“We wanted him to get that confidence, but I felt that some of the defense he played during training was more than we wanted him to do. It was a fair challenge, and Angus [Crichton], who is arguably the finest back-rower in the competition right now, handled his business quite well.
He made good kicks and made a few ball runs. Fantastic game.”
Penrith is probably going to host the preliminary final.
either Accor Stadium or Allianz Stadium on Friday, September 28. The Melbourne Storm, Cronulla Sharks, Newcastle Knights, or North Queensland Cowboys are the team they will be playing against.
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