Penrith have lost another big name for two weeks due to a ban.
It would take a brave man to overlook a fully-fit Nathan Cleary from a State of Origin team, but that’s the reality facing NSW coach Laurie Daley after the Panthers slumped to last on the NRL ladder on Saturday night. And incumbent NSW and Australia fullback Dylan Edwards could be in grave danger as well.
Cleary and Edwards were powerless to stop the Panthers suffering their sixth loss from eight games so far this season, which has left them dead-last in 17th place due to Parramatta’s bye. The superstar spine members failed to fire as Penrith went down 26-10 to Manly in another massive blow to their hopes of winning a fifth-straight title.
Not since May of 2019 have the Panthers been last on the NRL ladder, but they took a step backwards on Saturday night after last week’s breakthrough win over the Roosters. To make matters worse, Scott Sorensen will miss the next two games after being charged for a high tackle on Nathan Brown that saw him sin-binned. Edwards and Casey McLean also copped fines for a trip and high tackle respectively.
The ladder doesn’t really matter until July or August, or something, but I guess it’s a talking point,” coach Ivan Cleary said afterwards. “When you only win two games, you’re going to be down there somewhere.”
Cleary and Edwards have both suffered injury-hit starts to the season, but their form would be a huge worry for NSW coach Daley. Many have suggested that Cleary and Mitchell Moses should be the Blues halves in State of Origin this year, but Cleary’s form has opened the door for Jarome Luai to retain his place alongside Moses.
Luai hasn’t been in great form for the Wests Tigers either, but formed a dynamic duo with Moses last year to help NSW win the series from 0-1 down when Cleary was out injured. There’s every chance Daley will opt to keep the winning combo of Luai and Moses – at least for the opening game of the series.
Moses has only played one game this season due to a foot injury, but showed no signs of rust in a strong performance against the Tigers last weekend. It might be a different story against better opposition, but the fact Moses was close to the Blues’ best last year after coming in for the final two games makes him very hard to drop.
Phil Gould shoots down Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses talk
Speaking earlier this week, former NSW coach Phil Gould shot down the prospect of Cleary and Moses playing in the halves together and pointed out they’re both predominantly left-side players. “There is a line of thinking as to whether or not Cleary and Moses could play together in the halves, which means one of them would have to sacrifice and play five-eighth,” Gould said.
“But I think it’s either Cleary and Luai or it’s Moses and Luai, which is a big call to make. I don’t attest to the theory that you can play them both – that would be too clunky.”
If Moses shows better form over the next few weeks, there’s every chance Daley will be forced to overlook Cleary. And there’s no guarantees Edwards will retain his place either.
Dylan Edwards under serious threat from gun fullbacks
The fullback has looked well off the pace since returning from a groin injury, and James Tedesco and Ryan Papenhuyzen are both in better form. If Tom Trbojevic stays on the park, he too could make a strong case for the NSW No.1 role. Trbojevic had a try assist, broke four tackles and ran for 183 metres on Saturday night in his first game back from a knee complaint.
There was a rather embarrassing moment for Edwards on Saturday night when he was out-leaped by second-rower Haumole Olakau’atu for a stunning try. It was a brilliant play by Olakau’atu, but you wouldn’t expect the NSW and Australia fullback to be out-jumped by a forward.
Last week, Nathan Hindmarsh became the latest high-profile figure to suggest Tedesco is ahead of Edwards in the race for the NSW spot this year. Tedesco has put the Roosters on his back in 2025 and is a huge chance of winning back the Blues fullback spot he lost last season. In a silver lining for the Panthers, it would be a huge boost to have Cleary and Edwards available throughout the Origin period when they’d normally miss multiple games.
