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Nine minutes into Sunday\u2019s NRL grand final, Nathan Cleary injured his left knee and suffered a suspected ligament tear.<\/p>\n
But with the three-peat and a chance to make NRL history on the line, the Panthers halfback was determined to stay on the field.<\/p>\n
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Nathan Cleary played 70 minutes of Sunday\u2019s final with a suspected PCL tear.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cI remember feeling at the time [that] it felt a bit weird. I didn\u2019t take the conversion not long after that,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just sort of [kept] getting it checked out. And then I could feel it through the game, but I wasn\u2019t too sore. Adrenaline pumping. But then the next day afterwards, it was a struggle to walk around.\u201d<\/p>\n The suspected tear in his posterior cruciate ligament – one the of the ligaments that connect the thighbone to the shinbone – was the result of a tackle from Broncos prop Payne Haas, who was later charged by the match review committee for dangerous contact but escaped with a fine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t anything crazy. I felt it a little bit at the start, it just felt a bit weird. I got it checked at halftime, but the physio was pretty confident that it was nothing too serious. He gave me a lot of positivity. I just had to go on,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n Luckily, he did. With 24 minutes left in the game, the Panthers were trailing by 16 points after an Ezra Mam hat-trick. But Cleary dragged his team from the precipice to prevail 26-24 and claim a third straight premiership.<\/p>\n But just days after he was named in the Kangaroos squad for the upcoming Pacific Championships, Cleary withdrew from the team, with scans expected to reveal damage to his PCL.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty disappointing. I would have loved to play again. But the last couple of days have been pretty sore,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n \u201cI probably wouldn\u2019t have been able to play the first couple of games anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Panthers celebrate with the trophy after beating the Broncos for the 2023 NRL premiership.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n He now joins teammate Jarome Luai, who is having surgery after aggravating the shoulder injury that sidelined him for four weeks, in the off-season casualty ward.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, Romey\u2019s [Luai] probably going to get surgery which is unfortunate for him. But it\u2019s been a pretty big year and coming off a World Cup and that, so looking forward to it [time off].\u201d<\/p>\n The reality of the three-peat is yet to sink in for the Panthers skipper.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of fun, just getting to reminisce on what happened. It\u2019s just been good to spend time with the boys. It\u2019s been pretty well-behaved as well, so it\u2019s been nice compared to the last few years,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we\u2019ve been out it\u2019s been on TV a fair bit, just sort of seeing the highlights. And it\u2019s pretty cool to reminisce on it and reflect. It\u2019s been cool to watch it with the boys as well.\u201d<\/p>\n From one legendary halfback to another, Cleary said Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds reached out after the final.<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke to Adam Reynolds, who sent me a message after the game, and I just congratulated him on the year he had. I have a lot of admiration for \u2018Reyno\u2019. So that was cool,\u201d Cleary said. Brad Fittler and Nathan Cleary during the Blues Origin camp this year.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Brook Mitchell<\/cite><\/p>\n Cleary, the NSW State of Origin halfback, said he was shocked that Blues coach Brad Fittler had decided to walk away from the role.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was pretty surprising, to be honest. I was just in amongst getting ready for the grand final and stuff like that, I haven\u2019t been able to process that too much either,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll probably reach out to him over the next couple of days and say thank you for what he\u2019s done for my game. He has shown a lot of faith in me when I was young and coming through. I have a lot of respect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Although his father Ivan has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Fittler, Nathan believes he won\u2019t apply for the role.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Dad would do that. I don\u2019t know [who replaces Fittler]. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Panthers and NSW playmaker Luai was similarly shocked at the news.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a bit of a surprise [Fittler\u2019s resignation]. I thought he would have went around the globe one more time,\u201d Luai said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he has a family and there has obviously been a lot of pressure on him in the past few years. But he knew what the right call was.\u201d<\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t know him I\u2019m overly well, but I\u2019ve met him a couple of times, and he\u2019s a legend of a bloke and a great footy player too. He actually apologised for not mentioning us in his post-match speech. I said it\u2019s 100 per cent fine. Then he just said congratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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