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The Penrith Panthers will be sweating on a shoulder injury to Nathan Cleary from a tackle late in their preliminary final win over the Sharks . The Panthers advanced to a fifth straight grand final, but Penrith fans and staff had their hearts in their mouth when Cleary clutched at his troublesome left shoulder late in the contest. In the 72nd minute, Cleary pulled off a covering tackle to deny the Sharks a try, but he got to his feet clutching at the same shoulder that saw him miss a large chunk of the back half of the season.
Watch the best coverage of the 2024 NRL finals, with expert analysis and every game until the Grand Final LIVE with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today > “Cleary clutching at the shoulder,” Dan Ginnane said on Fox League. “Cleary in a little bit of trouble.
The first time we have seen that tonight. “For the first time in this finals series Nathan Cleary is troubled by that shoulder injury.” Corey Parker noted the fact Cleary stayed on the field as evidence it may not be too serious.
“Have a look at the desperation, Cleary comes down low on Iro and Edwards over the top,” Parker said. “It is great signs that he has gone straight back into the line for his team. “They have got Schneider on the bench.
What must be going through his head?” MORE NRL NEWS ‘LUCKY TO STAY ON’: Talakai escapes sin bin over ugly late ‘cheap shot’ on Luai ‘WE’RE DONE’: Robbo responds to Collins KO amid Roosters’ sad farewells STORM BREWING! Melbourne fire scary GF warning as Hughes leads bloodbath However, Cooper Cronk, who knows about shoulder injuries, believes that it was the type of tackle that puts a lot of strain on shoulder injuries. “With a shoulder injury like that, whenever it is extended like that on the outside of the body, that is when it can pop back out,” Cronk said. “The fact that he had to do a reaching tackle and reached out and extended.
” Ginnane noted if the injury was really serious Cleary would have been taken straight off. “They are up by 14 with eight to play, so if it was in real trouble he would be straight off you would imagine,” Ginnane said. Yvonne Sampson revealed Cleary jarred his shoulder in the post match.
“Word from the field is that Nathan Cleary jarred that shoulder and he will be fine,” Sampson said..
