Nathan Cleary Inspires Panthers to Derby Win Over Eels
Nathan Cleary came off the bench to steer Penrith to a fifth consecutive win, overcoming local rivals Parramatta in a fiery clash.
Just four days after New South Wales’ loss in the State of Origin decider, Cleary entered the contest in the 26th minute and later sealed the result with a decisive late try.
Of the Panthers’ Origin stars, only Isaah Yeo backed up for the match, with Dylan Edwards, Brian To’o, and Liam Martin given a well-earned rest.
Parramatta handed a debut to dynamic former Wests Tiger Tallyn Da Silva, who rotated at dummy-half alongside Dylan Brown—although the latter struggled in the unfamiliar role.
Club stalwart Junior Paulo marked his 200th game in blue and gold with the opening hit-up, and Kitione Kautoga opened the scoring for the hosts.
Penrith struck back through Thomas Jenkins, who muscled his way over in the corner, and a high shot on Jack Williams allowed Paul Alamoti to level the scores from the tee.
A moment of brilliance from Bailey Simonsson set up Zac Lomax for Parramatta’s second, but Luke Garner hit back just before halftime, with Alamoti’s conversion giving the visitors a slender lead at the break.
From there, it was all Penrith. Izack Tago scrambled over early in the second half, and Alamoti added to the tally following a Zac Lomax mistake.
Cleary then dummied through the defence with nine minutes remaining to put the result beyond doubt, before Lindsay Smith capped off the dominant second-half display.
