- Nathan Cleary was subbed off with a head injury on Thursday evening
- It came in the first-half of Penrith’s clash against Melbourne Storm
Nathan Cleary was ruled out of Penrith’s 2024 Grand Final replay against the Melbourne Storm on Thursday night after he sustained a Category One concussion.
The Panthers’ star man appeared to suffer a head injury after a bizarre collision with Storm’s Jarhome Hughes.
Cleary, 27, had attempted to sweep up a grubber kick from Ryan Papenhuyzen inside his own 10m line but was beaten to the ball by team-mate Jack Cole.
He appeared to jump in the air to avoid making contact with his fellow five-eighth but flew backwards into last year’s Dally M medallist, Hughes.
He flipped over the Storm stand-off’s shoulder appearing to land awkwardly on his side with his head hitting the floor.
‘They’ve come together acrobatically,’ Fox League commentator Michael Ennis said.
Nathan Cleary was involved in an awkward collision during Penrith’s game against Melbourne
Cleary had collided with Jarhome Hughes as the pair attempted to collect a grubber kick
‘This is extraordinary, have a look at this. Two of the best off the ball have collided and they are so the worst for wear. What a moment,’ Andrew Voss said.
‘Absolute carnage at AAMI Park,’ Ennis added.
Cleary, worryingly lay prone on the ground for several moments with doctors rushing onto the field to deliver treatment. Hughes also concerningly lay prone on the ground for several moments but was OK to continue.
It was later revealed that he had been ruled out of the remainder of the match after failing a HIA.
It means he’ll also miss Thursday’s game against the Rabbitohs due to the NRL’s stand-down rule.
Storm ran into the changing rooms at half-time with a 14-10 lead over the reigning premiers.
Grant Anderson and Eliesa Katoa both crossed the try line inside 10 minutes with Nick Meaney converting both scores before kicking a penalty. Paul Alamoti scored a brace for the visitors but could only convert one of his tries.
Cleary’s absence will, though, be a huge blow for the Panthers.
Cleary was taken from the field for a head injury assessment but was not allowed to return having sustained a Category One concussion
The Penrith star had been battling to be fit for the 2025 NRL season after he had undergone surgery to fix a troublesome shoulder injury in the off-season.
Cleary had returned in time to star during the Panther’s opening-round victory against the Sharks in Las Vegas and their Round Two clash against the Roosters last week.
Penrith came out firing in the second term without their star man Cleary, with Casey McLean crossing the tryline in the 44th minute.
But Storm, in front of their home fans matched them try for try, with Xavier Coates, Tyran Wishart and Papenhuyzen all touching down.
Casey McLean and Brian To’o, who scored a brace, responded with tries for the visitors but Alamoti could not convert the tries, with Papenhuyzen putting two kicks over to seal the win.
