{"id":698867,"date":"2026-05-27T23:52:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/698867\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T23:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:52:23","slug":"masked-panther-proud-family-watches-on-as-cleary-owns-origin-the-western-weekender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/698867\/","title":{"rendered":"Masked Panther: Proud family watches on as Cleary owns Origin \u2022 The Western Weekender"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cleary\u2019s moment to shine<\/p>\n

He may be a four-time Premiership winning coach but last night Ivan Cleary was just like any proud father.<\/p>\n

The Cleary family watched Origin I from bay 131 at Accor Stadium, mixing with fans as they watched the Blues\u2019 incredible comeback over the Maroons.<\/p>\n

Ivan cut a relaxed figure, enjoying a few drinks and attempting to blend in to the crowd wearing a cap and jacket.<\/p>\n

After a rough first half, Nathan produced a stunning final 40 minutes to silence the doubters of his Origin credentials.<\/p>\n

Post-game, Cleary climbed into the stands to celebrate with his family and friends.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Nathan Cleary celebrates post-game with sister Indi. Photo: NRL Photos.<\/p>\n

Spotted<\/p>\n

A scruffy looking Panthers legend Ryan Girlder sitting with fellow Blues stalwart Danny Buderus at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Spotted<\/p>\n

An emotional Panthers winger Brian To\u2019o hugging his mum in the stands at Accor Stadium following the Blues\u2019 win on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Brian To\u2019o after Origin. Photo: NRL Photos.<\/p>\n

Reunion has appeal<\/p>\n

I told you some weeks ago that Brian To\u2019o would be a particular target of other NRL clubs and the chances of Penrith retaining him were slim.<\/p>\n

While To\u2019o can\u2019t speak to other clubs until November, there is no question that a reunion with his good mate Jarome Luai at the PNG Chiefs is a serious possibility.<\/p>\n

The To\u2019o and Luai families are close, and given how important family connection will be for those going to the Chiefs, I\u2019m not sure it\u2019ll take all that much convincing for To\u2019o to join his good mate. Especially when he sees the financial offer!<\/p>\n

Boss\u2019 exit no great shock<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a huge surprise to clubland that NRL CEO Andrew Abdo is stepping down. In fact, many club bosses thought it may happen earlier.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s perhaps also no great shock that many of the clubs think Peter V\u2019landys may well take on the CEO role in the long-term, which under the current constitution would require him to step down as Chairman.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeading the NRL has been a privilege and the highlight of my career,\u201d Abdo said this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cRugby League has given me opportunities I could only have dreamed of, experiences that cannot be compared and I have made friendships for a lifetime. It has been an honour to be part of the rugby league family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NRL CEO Andrew Abdo. Photo: NRL Photos.<\/p>\n

Cleary\u2019s Abdo tribute<\/p>\n

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has credited Andrew Abdo for his leadership during his run as CEO, especially during the COVID period. \u201cI think our sport was head and shoulders above a lot of others in that period,\u201d Cleary said. \u201cHe and Peter made some really bold decisions then and since then the game has only grown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vossy gets Origin shot<\/p>\n

He may be one of the longest serving broadcasters in the game but Andrew Voss finally got to call his first State of Origin match on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

The call for Fox League\u2019s replay and long-term archives is usually looked after by Warren Smith, who has been off since the start of the year battling ill health.<\/p>\n

Vossy stepped in and did a great job bringing colour and flair to the Origin call.<\/p>\n

Marooned<\/p>\n

I\u2019m no Queenslander but I\u2019m enjoying Darren Groth\u2019s Marooned, a new book released through Hawkeye Publishing. Marooned uses a crossroads moment for a rugby league loving family as the spur to look back on Darren\u2019s lifelong love of the Queensland rugby league team and explore the role it has played in shaping and affirming his identity.<\/p>\n

Written as a chronological series of funny, thoughtful and accessible essays, the memoir chronicles the author\u2019s unique journey as a Maroon devotee, the highs and lows on and off the field, the key place the team has occupied in the relationship with his father and disabled son, and its necessity in connecting him to his state of origin while living far from home. It\u2019s in all good bookstores now.<\/p>\n

Backing the Panthers<\/p>\n

We all know Penrith\u2019s businesses do a great job decorating their shops when Penrith make the Grand Final.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m told this year, plans are underway for businesses to get the decorations up earlier and for Panther Pride to be shown through the city from mid-year.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s designed to back the Panthers\u2019 run towards the Finals and would show just how much the city is behind the footy team. Expect a formal announcement about the initiative in July.<\/p>\n

TV talk<\/p>\n

Negotiations around the next broadcast deal have started this week.<\/p>\n

The big news leaked so far has been that Channel Nine is aiming to get exclusive rights to the entire slate of games, to be split between free-to-air broadcast and Stan.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m told it is a somewhat unlikely scenario as the more lucrative deal for the NRL is likely to split the rights between two broadcasters. But Nine has certainly made things interesting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Channel Nine\u2019s Danika Mason. Photo: NRL Images.<\/p>\n

Breen\u2019s blow-up<\/p>\n

It was interesting to see Sydney Morning Herald sports boss Neil Breen blowing up about the scheduling of the Panthers v Warriors top-of-the-table clash on a Sunday night at 6.15pm.<\/p>\n

Sure, the game isn\u2019t on free-to-air TV but I\u2019m not sure why we\u2019re looking at the Sunday evening slot as such a problem.<\/p>\n

It is absolute prime time for TV \u2013 Sunday nights are gold \u2013 and the kick-off isn\u2019t super late for families to get to the game.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that Penrith\u2019s match against Manly in Round 9, also in the Sunday 6.15pm slot, rated higher on Fox and Kayo than the Sunday 2pm game against Newcastle and the Sunday 4pm game against Canberra either side of it.<\/p>\n

The crowd was also higher than the 2025 average at CommBank Stadium despite the timeslot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Masked Panther is the most mysterious journalist of all. He has the inside word on everything happening in rugby league.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cleary\u2019s moment to shine He may be a four-time Premiership winning coach but last night Ivan Cleary was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-698867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}