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March 27, 2026 \u2014 2:00pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n A few of Nathan Cleary\u2019s Penrith teammates have started joking about how their star halfback may have been learning kicking tricks from his Matildas partner, Mary Fowler.<\/p>\n The Panthers have been brilliant to start the 2026 NRL season, winning all three games and conceding just two tries.<\/p>\n They are expected to make it four on the trot on Saturday against western Sydney rivals Parramatta.<\/p>\n What has been impossible to miss is Cleary and the variety of funky kicks he has been brave enough to attempt this early in the campaign.<\/p>\n There have been the rifled dropouts along the ground that have bamboozled Cronulla and Sydney Roosters players.<\/p>\n There has also been a short looping dropout that landed 10m out right in front of the uprights against the Roosters, simply because Cleary did not want to send the ball in the direction of towering wingers Daniel Tupou and Mark Nawaqanitawase.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The banana kicks, including one that confused Roosters captain James Tedesco, and a second that swerved so severely, Penrith winger Brian To\u2019o was unable to grasp it.<\/p>\n And the \u201cchopper\u201d, flat cross-field kicks that have stayed low, but travelled so fast they found an unmarked winger Tom Jenkins \u2013 twice \u2013 against Cronulla, only to fly into touch.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always trying new things,\u201d a smiling Cleary said. \u201cThere are things I\u2019ve worked at for a long time, and I want them there if the opportunity presents.<\/p>\n \u201cI like the idea where whatever situation I\u2019m in, I can try and manoeuvre a different kick to help us.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about practising what you can and can\u2019t do. That\u2019s the biggest thing for me. I won\u2019t make up a kick during the game.<\/p>\n \u201cYou try to keep a few things in your kit bag. I like to work on all of them at training.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans and TV commentators picked up on Cleary getting creative with his kicks against the Sharks, but once the Panthers kicked out to a decent lead against the Roosters, that\u2019s when the game\u2019s best halfback really backed himself.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Cleary shaped to kick the ball for a 40-20, and once he spotted Tedesco racing one way to try and cut it off, was quick enough to drop the ball on the outside of his boot and launch it to the other side of the field.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a kick I\u2019ve tried to do since I was a kid,\u201d said Cleary, about the \u201cbanana\u2033\u2063.<\/p>\n \u201cThat [play was me] adjusting on the run, and seeing what the fullbacks are doing. A lot of fullbacks like to cut off the 40-20, so it\u2019s good to have that get-out option.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second one could have been a better kick for \u2018Bizza\u2019 [To\u2019o]. They\u2019re a difficult kick, but if you get that bit of extra time on the field, you can try them out and tinker with them.\u201d<\/p>\n What about the variety of dropouts?<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t get too technical \u2013 it\u2019s not so much about the science, it\u2019s more trial and error,\u201d Cleary said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll try things out \u2013 if they work, they work, and I\u2019ll try to replicate it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one that went right in front \u2013 the Roosters have tall wingers, so it didn\u2019t make sense to kick out to them.\u201d<\/p>\n The cross-field kicks for Jenkins evoked memories of Cooper Cronk keeping the ball low and flat for Valentine Holmes during the 2017 Origin series for Queensland. Both of Cleary\u2019s attempts for Jenkins failed, but the Cronulla defence was nowhere to be seen, and you can expect that play to be on again.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Panthers co-captain Isaah Yeo and back-rower Liam Martin, who have spent years playing with Cleary at club and representative level, said they admired the way the halfback spent countless hours working on his kicking game after training.<\/p>\n But they were also still impressed whenever Cleary produced something special that most other playmakers were incapable of doing, or not confident enough to attempt during a game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt shows how in control of his game he is at the moment, and how confident he is,\u201d said Yeo, who joked Fowler might have also been giving him pointers.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got your No.7, who I think is the best player in the competition, playing at a level like that, and being super confident \u2013 it\u2019s a good thing for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n Martin, whose job it is to protect Cleary on the right edge in defence, said: \u201cThe amount of work he puts in behind the scenes \u2013 the hours and hours of practice he puts in trying to perfect his craft \u2013 there is nobody more diligent than him.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s still incredible to see what he does. I certainly wouldn\u2019t be able to pull off some of the stuff he does.\u201d<\/p>\n Fowler has one of the best right boots in women\u2019s football, but Cleary played down any exchanging of the minds during their rare downtime.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t talk about it too much,\u201d he said. \u201cIf something happens in the game, it\u2019s cool to talk about it, but they\u2019re different sports.\u201d<\/p>\n Cleary praised Ben Harden, his old SG Ball coach who has taken over the attack for the NRL team this year, for \u201cadding a new dimension\u201d.<\/p>\n Any halfback will tell you their kicking game can only thrive if their pack is rolling forward. To keep rivals guessing, Cleary has run the ball on more than one occasion on the last tackle with plenty of success.<\/p>\n Related Article Is it any wonder Penrith fans are so desperate for Cleary to pledge his long-term future to the club, despite being contracted until the end of 2027?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m definitely happy with the way we\u2019ve started, but we still have a long way to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYour attack won\u2019t be at its peak this early in the season, but the main thing is we\u2019re finding ways to put ourselves in the picture, and coming up with tries.\u201d<\/p>\n The Panthers play their first home game at CommBank Stadium on Saturday, and despite sluggish early ticket sales<\/a>, officials are now anticipating upwards of 22,000 fans.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Matildas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/92457906c5f53e110554c190c41f1b4a7442ae09.jpeg\")
Matildas star Mary Fowler.AP<\/p>\n![\"Wanted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6eb9c06ec7d0b7d5274051cd681d0c929af43be7.jpeg\")
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