The Panthers and NSW halfback had a slightly off-night from the kicking tee in State of Origin Game 1.
Nathan Cleary has moved to shut down doubts over his goal-kicking ability and whether he will be handing the tee to Zac Lomax for State of Origin Game 2 after the captain’s run session raised eyebrows. Cleary endured a tough night from the tee during Game 1 at Suncorp having missed three of his four conversions with the Blues’ 18-6 win not reflecting the dominance of NSW throughout the 80 minutes.
Cleary handed over the kicking duties to Lomax for the final conversion, which saw the Parramatta Eels star also miss from close range, in a sign he might not take on the kicking in Game 2. Viewers at Optus Stadium also witnessed Lomax and Cleary run through their kicking routines in preparation for the game on Wednesday.
Although Cleary did not attempt as many as Lomax with the Panthers halfback taking a more reserved approach. This prompted speculation that Lomax would be the kicker.
Fox Sports reporter Dane Lillingstone claimed it was odd watching Cleary in training not undergo his conversions with maximum effort. “I was out there for the captain’s run. Lomax and Nathan Cleary doing plenty of kicking practice, but obviously we saw Cleary not actually hitting the ball. This brought about the debate of whether he was fully fit?” he said on SEN Radio. “He shut that down.”
Lillingstone claimed Cleary clarified that he was visualising his kicks. And the Panthers halfback claimed there were no concerns heading into Game 2, even though he will need to adapt to a slightly different view in the oval shaped Optus Stadium.
“I’ve never found it too difficult to adapt to the oval fields because they have the signage set up as a rectangle around the field,” Cleary said. “It would be a bit different if it was just the full circle. Training on the field the day before the game helps you get a feel of the ground and you get your bearings. Once you get used to it, it’s not too different.”
Nathan Cleary’s warning to Queensland for Game 2
Cleary will link-up with former Panthers teammate Jarome Luai for State of Origin Game 2 in the halves as they reignite their partnership. Luai’s call-up means there are now nine members of Penrith’s NRL premiership dynasty in the Blues’ group, including 18th man Matt Burton.
And Cleary said he is excited to throw on the Sky Blues jersey again with the No.6 in an attempt to seal the series victory for NSW. “(Jarome and I) understand each other’s games pretty well. So in that regard, it was a pretty seamless transition with him coming back in,” Cleary said ahead of Game 2 in Perth.
He was a part of the series last year too. He has those combinations already with the guys around him. Our combination doesn’t change. It’s probably more him coming back into the side with those other guys. And I thought he’s done that really well.”
Cleary and Luai know each others games extremely well having won four premierships together. The duo started on their journey in the same team since they were 15 years old. They have a winning record of 107 from 134 games at all levels. Except they have lost three of their last four games together for NSW. The duo will be looking to turn this around in Perth.
