Penrith coach Ivan Cleary is hopeful there will be no lingering effects for superstar halfback Nathan Cleary outside of his compulsory 11-day stand down for concussion.
Cleary sustained concussion just eight minutes into the grand final rematch against Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on Thursday night after colliding awkwardly with Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes and landing heavily.
Cleary said the early signs were positive for his son, but the Panthers will miss him for their clash with South Sydney Rabbitohs next Thursday night, which they will enter with a 1-2 record after the 30-24 loss to the Storm.
“Yeah, he seems OK,” Ivan Cleary said.
“He remembers the incident, so that’s a good thing.
“So, yeah, hopefully he feels the same way tomorrow.”
“Yeah Im proud of the boys tonight,” he said.
“There were lots of things that we sort of didn’t help ourselves throughout the game .
“There’s clearly a lack of cohesion at times, which is understandable.
“But, I thought from a cultural point of view, they were very brave, just never stopped, particularly 14-nil down.”
“Obviously losing [Nathan], that’s a pretty big thing, not just tactically how the team goes, but obviously mentally and against obviously a great team down here and I just thought they really hung in.”
Panthers captain Isaah Yeo was pleased with the response of his team to the Cleary concussion.
“I felt like when Nathan went down, that sort of could have gone either way,” he said.
“It’s a tough game down here against a really quality outfit and I thought we certainly didn’t shirk it.”
Winger To’o tried valiantly to drag the Panthers across the line.
To’o racked up a game-high 219 run metres and two late tries to set up a grandstand finish.
Cleary said Storm’s household names ultimately closed out the game better than his less experienced spine.
Yeo believes the Panthers will embrace the depth test with Cleary joining star fullback Dylan Edwards on the sidelines.
“We’re just excited about the challenge,” Yeo said.
“Winning is addictive and we’re certainly addicted to it and the success.
“So at the moment we’ve just lost two on the trot and we understand we need to be better, but I felt like we could take a lot from tonight.
“We’re really confident with how the season will go and we just need to get it back on track.”
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