Nathan Cleary sends brutal message to Melbourne Storm as fans erupt over epic NRL display

NRL fans were quickly reminded of why the Panthers are premiership favourites.

With a masterful performance in his first game back alongside halves partner Jarome Luai since round 10, Nathan Cleary has put the Melbourne Storm on notice. The two-time Dally M medalist led Penrith to a commanding 46-10 victory over St George Illawarra, scoring three tries and setting up two more in a performance that highlighted the Panthers’ title potential.

The visitors managed to keep four points ahead of Melbourne at the top of the table thanks to Cleary’s clinic, while the Dragons were forced to wait at least a week to make the eight. And it was evident that the Panthers’ favored halves combination was back in full force, giving runaway leaders Melbourne real battle for the 2024 NRL title.

The Panthers are preparing for their historic opportunity to win a fourth consecutive premiership. Melbourne has been the most impressive team this year, despite the general belief throughout the season that Penrith had to be the favorites to win again. But the Panthers have consistently finished in the top four of the NRL, even without Cleary, and now that their star playmaker is back, it’s obvious they are the club to beat once more.

Cleary was at the heart of everything that went well for the Panthers on Sunday. With Luai by his side, he and Penrith looked better than the others after he and the Dolphins’ golden-point field goal on his comeback from a hamstring injury.

The Panthers’ first goal came from Jesse McLean, and their second came from Cleary, who found a hole near the line for Liam Martin. The halfback then deceived Dragons defenders on the final tackle, displaying his class and NRL IQ. After feigning a kick and swerving back to the short side, Cleary found a gap on the right edge and loomed up on his inside to score. After a few minutes, he dummied and moved in front of Ben Hunt and Raymond Faitala-Mariner to score his second goal, bringing the score to 22-0 in under thirty minutes.

After he and Luai connected in the second half, the Panthers No. 7 finished with a hat-trick. After the game, many NRL fans thought the Panthers had a great chance to win a record-breaking fourth straight grand final because of how impressive Cleary looked in just his second game back from injury.

 

 

 

 

Shane Flanagan’s scathing remarks following the Panthers’ loss
After the Dragons were humiliated 46–10 by Penrith on Saturday, Shane Flanagan said St George Illawarra didn’t deserve to be in the finals. The Dragons gave the three-time defending premiers maybe their worst performance of 2024 in front of their first sold-out Wollongong crowd in 17 years.

Cleary, the halfback, ran wild with three tries and two assists, taking the Dragons out of the game from the first frame onward. Although the Red V are not the first club this year to be destroyed by Cleary, and they most likely won’t be the last, their chances of making the playoffs are now seriously compromised.

With just six weeks remaining, the Dragons are out of the finals, even though a win would have put them in the top eight. They will also have a demanding next two weeks as they play Melbourne on Saturday night in Melbourne and then Canterbury, who is doing well, the following week. “The race is on to the semifinals. If we don’t improve on our performance from today, we don’t deserve to be there, Flanagan declared.

With all of the circumstances, it was perhaps our poorest performance of the year. Very frustrating, since it was a wonderful day to play against the premiers and a tremendous day overall. We were off to a terrible start. We did not do anything that they did well.”

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