Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary has tipped Eels winger Waqa Blake to bounce back from a horror start to the play-offs, as five-eighth Jarome Luia declared: “Teams aren’t going to break in finals, you’ve got to make them break”.
Cleary, who was playing his first match since being sent off six weeks ago against Parramatta, targeted Blake with a series of floating bombs that he struggled to catch as Penrith stormed to a 27-8 win at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night.
The victory puts the Panthers one win away from a third consecutive grand final while the Eels are no in danger of bowing out in the second week of the finals for a fourth successive year.
Blake can expect to again be tested out under the high ball next weekend but Cleary backed him to overcome any psychological trauma from putting down three kicks, with two of his handling errors leading to Penrith tries.
Cleary's bombs causing all sorts of headaches
“Once we got one result, I thought it was a pretty good place to keep going back to, but Waqa is a great player and I know he will bounce back next week,” Cleary said.
Luai said the Panthers upped the pressure once they sensed the confidence evaporating from the Eels and seized control of the match in the second half.
“You can tell when a team is fatigued and when we are on the front foot, so you have got to pounce on those opportunities,” Luai said.
“That’s finals footy, that’s what it is going to be like every week.”
The premiers led 7-6 at halftime after Parramatta halfback Mitchell Moses missed a 36th minute field goal attempt and Cleary landed one at the opposite end in the next set of tackles.
Cleary admitted he hadn’t thought about a first half field goal until Moses had his shot.
Clever Moses just misses
“I thought when he kicked it, if it goes over that is a pretty good play, but then we got seven tackles and I thought if it was 6-6 with two minutes to go in the second half you’d be kicking it so it’s not a bad thing to do,” Cleary said.
“Once he had a crack I thought if we got in position I would try one.”
The star playmaker finished the game with three try assists and almost scored himself after Parramatta winger Maika Sivo fumbled a kick, but he couldn’t pick the ball up cleanly.
Penrith’s first try came after Blake fumbled a first half bomb but unlike in last year’s grand final when Cleary repeatedly kicked to South Sydney fullback Blake Taafe after an early error, he was more selective with his kicks.
Match Highlights: Panthers v Rabbitohs
“I think it is just a bit of a feel thing and a bit of experience as well,” Cleary said. “I think in the past I have had a few games where I have just tried to do it every kick and you have just got to pick the right times.
“It just depends on the feel of the game and the position we are in.”
Despite the loss and the possible absence of halfback Mitchell Moses after he was forced from the field in the 60th minute due to a head knock, Cleary refused to write the Eels off.
“I think they are definitely a chance,” he said. “If you look at the last three weeks before this and how well they were playing, I think there is a big chance.
“The finals this year are just so wide open, that anything could happen. We have now got two weeks before we play again and each training session is an opportunity for us to get better. I think there is still room for improvement.
“You don’t want to look back on last year too much but at this stage last year we were like the walking wounded.
“We adopted a real mentality of just working hard for each other and leaving no stone unturned. We have got to adopt that same mentality.”