Nathan Cleary has been sent to the bench for Penrith’s preliminary final against Newcastle, as the star No.7 fights to play through a foot injury.
The Panthers sprung a surprise when they revealed their final line up on Sunday, with Jack Cole and Jack Cogger to start in the halves with Cleary on the bench.
That will theoretically give Penrith a chance to decide whether they need to risk their superstar halfback, or leave him fresh for the grand final if they qualify.
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Cleary’s availability for Sunday’s match had been under a cloud since he limped through the final 10 minutes of the finals week-one win over Sydney Roosters and scans detected a “stress-related bone issue”.
When asked on Saturday whether his son would be right to start, coach Ivan Cleary had been evasive in his response.
“Is he impact off the bench?” Ivan quipped.
“Nah, Nath is ready to play. He is obviously carrying an injury but there wouldn’t be many players out there for any team at the moment who aren’t.
“It’s just that time of year. But we’re super confident that all our guys are ready.”
The Panthers’ decision to have the two-time Clive Churchill Medalist come off the bench will also raise questions over whether he will be right to kick once on the field.
Liam Henry will also start for Penrith in place of Lindsay Smith, while Scott Sorensen starts for Isaiah Papali’i.Newcastle are as named.
