Aussie Pro Rugby

Canes4life

Nathan Cleary is contracted until the end of 2027 for $1.3m a season. Absolutely none of this is coming from him or his camp. This is australian rugby trying to get some form of cut-through in the media. It's a retarded story from any angle you want to look at it.

Thanks, I didn't realise that he was already contracted for that long. Definitely not going to happen then, just another case of Aussie Rugby having egg on their face while trying to remain relevant with bogus headlines.

voodoo

@antipodean said in Aussie Pro Rugby:

More media noise about Cleary possibly moving to rugby with a column in The Australian from league journalist and his biographer, Andrew Webster. I wasn't ware that it was time for contract negotiations, nor do I understand why Tim Horan and Meltdown Turinui are banging on about it. First he's not going to move. Second he's bang average. Third he's made of glass.

Cleary is "bang average"???

That's an odd take

mariner4life

Cleary is really fucking good but nowhere near as good as the media like to make out.

For instance, i firmly believe Mitch Moses to be a better player. But Mitch plays for the Eels, while Nathan got to come up with a generational Penrith side.

The only thing that would have me thinking about changing my mind was the 15 minutes of football Cleary produced to win a lost GF all by himself. That was fucking special and will be talked about for a long time.

voodoo

@mariner4life said in Aussie Pro Rugby:

Cleary is really fucking good but nowhere near as good as the media like to make out.

For instance, i firmly believe Mitch Moses to be a better player. But Mitch plays for the Eels, while Nathan got to come up with a generational Penrith side.

The only thing that would have me thinking about changing my mind was the 15 minutes of football Cleary produced to win a lost GF all by himself. That was fucking special and will be talked about for a long time.

I don't watch nearly as much league as you guys - but I'll never forget that. Those 15mins were as special as anything I've seen on a rugby field in either code.

Kicking goals this year (Origin aside) at 93% ain't to be sneezed at either

mariner4life

Cleary does nearly everything to an incredibly high standard. An incredibly accurate kicking game, whether short or long, high or low, it almost always lands exactly where it needs to. It's a huge reason for Penrith's 4-peat. He passes accurately off both hands, and his running must be better than it looks for how often that right foot step of his pokes his nose through a hole. He's also a robust defender (he's a pretty big halfback). But he's not alone in having all of that among the elite NRL halves.

He has, until this year, also had a dream job. Penrith over their dominant period average a points-against of like 13. Imagine being an NRL half and knowing you only need to turn up an lay on 3 tries to win? And you are going to be getting an armchair ride behind the most aggressive and accurate pack in the comp? Through in Yeo playing first receiver to a ridiculously high level and Nathan has had advantages most halves can only dream of.

antipodean

@voodoo said in Aussie Pro Rugby:

@antipodean said in Aussie Pro Rugby:

More media noise about Cleary possibly moving to rugby with a column in The Australian from league journalist and his biographer, Andrew Webster. I wasn't ware that it was time for contract negotiations, nor do I understand why Tim Horan and Meltdown Turinui are banging on about it. First he's not going to move. Second he's bang average. Third he's made of glass.

Cleary is "bang average"???

That's an odd take

I think in comparison to his peers it's a reasonable take. A generational squad, injured half the time so Penrith had to make finals with him in rehab.

To look at it another way; could the Panthers have achieved GF success by swapping him out for another player? I say yes.

Nepia

I was going to weigh in on the Cleary debate but then I remembered that I never believed Metcalf would amount to anything other than a good runner at five eighth.

KiwiMurph

I don't think the speculation is that outrageous

There's a home Rugby World Cup in 2027

What else does he have left to achieve in League?

People get out of contracts all the time

NTA

@KiwiMurph said in Aussie Pro Rugby:

I don't think the speculation is that outrageous

There's a home Rugby World Cup in 2027

What else does he have left to achieve in League?

People get out of contracts all the time

Not long to get his head around that level of change - needs a lot of time at pro level if he's going to be a playmaker.

Did Cleary even play at school? Suali'i did which would have helped, but IMHO he still looks a little hesitant to position around rucks etc

bayimports

Interesting I didn't realise the World Cup was in Manchester? Could he potentially go maybe for the World Cup with an eye on relocation second? Maybe just very unlikely

KiwiMurph

@NTA said in Aussie Pro Rugby:

@KiwiMurph said in Aussie Pro Rugby:

I don't think the speculation is that outrageous

There's a home Rugby World Cup in 2027

What else does he have left to achieve in League?

People get out of contracts all the time

Not long to get his head around that level of change - needs a lot of time at pro level if he's going to be a playmaker.

Did Cleary even play at school? Suali'i did which would have helped, but IMHO he still looks a little hesitant to position around rucks etc

Yes he would need to make the switch very soon. I guess the flip side is he'd probably back himself to make the squad - 10 isn't exactly a position of strength.