Nathan Cleary in eye-opening confession about Blaize Talagi amid NRL links to Panthers
Cleary says he is very impressed by what he has seen from Talagi.
Panthers star Nathan Cleary says he has been incredibly impressed by Penrith recruit Blaize Talagi as he prepares to go toe-to-toe with his potential halves partner for next year this weekend. In a team that prides itself on its youth ranks, Penrith made the rare signing of the Eels young gun last week in what could end up being the most significant coup of their new dynasty.
Last week, the Eels confirmed the 19-year-old will be leaving the club at the end of the NRL season after reportedly signing a three-year deal with the Panthers worth around $1.5 million. The Panthers are unable to officially announce Talagi as a new signing until the end of the 10-day cooling-off period but it is expected to be just a formality.
Given the mid-season axing of Taylan May, next season the Panthers could opt to play Talagi in the outside backs, where he has been regularly playing for the Eels across the last two months. However, Penrith has NSW Under-19 representative brothers Casey and Jesse McLean in their ranks. The former has been incredibly impressive in recent weeks for Penrith's first-grade side, stepping up in place of Paul Alamoti, while the latter is knocking on the door for a call-up.
Therefore, with no lack of genuine first-graders, Talagi could find himself filling the shoes of five-eighth Jarome Luai, who departs for the Wests Tigers at the end of 2024. And while Cleary is excited by the proposition of playing alongside the "very exciting" youngster, he admits he hasn't given much thought to the pair's potential chemistry in the halves as he remains focussed on winning an unprecedented fourth straight premiership alongside current halves partner Luai.
"(Talagi) is a great player, only 19 years old. He's a very exciting talent," Cleary said. "I haven't thought about (their halves combination) too much, obviously we've still got 'Romey' (Luai) here and I want to enjoy the moments with him as they're coming to an end. But I think just the confidence for a young guy to come into first grade and play the way Blaize is in multiple positions, it's very impressive."
Nathan Cleary puts hamstring injury behind him
Cleary has been setting the NRL world alight since returning from his long-term hamstring injury. The Panthers No.7 most recently scored the decisive try in Sunday's 22-14 win over Newcastle and has gone from strength to strength in recent weeks, scoring four tries and setting up several more in the last fortnight.
Hamstring injuries are notoriously temperamental but Cleary says he has been reaping the rewards of restructuring his training load and has full confidence in it. "I probably had to refrain from a lot of the kicking stuff, but then I'm probably doing more in other areas just around the hammy, sort of load and high-speed running," he said.
"I've turned a lot more to the mental side and trying to nail that and visualisation, rather than so much physical reps all the time.
"I'm just trying to stick to that routine and not get comfortable with playing footy and not getting comfortable with the fact that it (the hamstring) is all right now."
with AAP
