EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Johns lays out radical blueprint to stop 'Wally Lewis-like' Panthers halfback

After four straight losses, which had them anchored to 15th spot on the ladder, former Knights premiership winner Andrew Johns issued the Panthers and Nathan Cleary a warning in April.

"The challenge for Nathan is the younger players don't see the game like him," Johns said on Nine at the time.

"He has to come back (to their level) for a while until these younger players get used to the speed of the game, handling pressure, playing under fatigue.

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"Because they're not up to his fitness level or his mental strength ... they don't see the game like him. So he's got to pull it back."

With two games left of the NRL year and one preliminary final already in the rear-view, the juggernaut that is Penrith still stands, with a chance to make it six grand final appearances in a row.

If they can go all the way, the club would arguably be mentioned in the same breath as the legendary St George team that won seven straight NSWRL titles from 1960-1966.

And Cleary is the director behind it all.

By his own admission, the 2025 season has not been his best but sometimes, you have to take a step back to move two steps forward.

And that was the essence of Johns' message earlier in the year.

The loss of Jarome Luai, and the exits of other star players in previous years, increased the level of difficulty for the playmaker this season.

Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.

Unlike other years, Cleary had to master the art of patience with his younger teammates and figure out a way of making them better while guiding his own star.

In a season when fans thought the Panthers' steamtrain was going to be brought to a screeching halt, Cleary and Penrith find themselves on the precipice of possible NRL immortality.

Playing sudden-death football away from home since week one of the finals, Cleary masterminded a 24-8 win over the Warriors in New Zealand, before leading the 46-26 victory over the Bulldogs in Sydney.

Yet the halfback's defensive vulnerabilities have been exposed this year like never before. He missed seven tackles against the Bulldogs in the semi-final, but his impact on the attacking side of the ball offset any weakness he posed in the defensive line.

That led Johns to categorise Cleary's impact on the game for the Panthers as "Wally Lewis-like".

Being mentioned in the same breath as the man dubbed The King is huge praise from the eighth Immortal.

"I watched him off the ball the other day, Nathan. And he was just in total control of everything," Johns said on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth.

"It was Wally Lewis. Like asking players what Wally was like, and they said he'd do the prowl around the field and when he wanted the ball he'd just strike, and that was Nathan."

Sunday's match against the Broncos could be another case of history repeating for Penrith or a devastating bout of PTSD for Brisbane.

While coach Michael Maguire wasn't at the helm at the time, Cleary delivered one of the most dominant 20 minutes of football in modern history to help the Panthers come from behind to defeat the Broncos in the 2023 grand final.

And his record against the Broncos is just as noteworthy.

The 27-year-old has accumulated 49 points in four wins from four against the Broncos dating back to round 12 in 2023.

Brisbane has only scored 50 points as a team against the Panthers in that same period.

But the Broncos targeted the Panthers' right-side defence with plenty of success in the '23 decider, with Ezra Mam scoring a hat-trick on that edge.

Cleary missed seven of his 18 tackles and was found out, yet like the semi-final win last week, the defensive frailties counted for nothing in the end. Mere stats in the face of yet another premiership.

But Johns claims if Brisbane have any hope of qualifying for their third grand final since 2015, they must revisit the tactic of throwing plenty of traffic at Cleary.

Johns suggested they should use Kotoni Staggs' side of the field early in the tackle count, before sending the ball the other way, speeding up the game.

"Mam is named to come off the bench after his long hamstring lay-off. When he does get on the field – ideally against tiring defenders – Brisbane need him and (Reece) Walsh attacking down the left, stepping and straightening the play up and trying to isolate Cleary and Liam Martin in defence," he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Brisbane isolated Cleary doing this in the 2023 grand final and dragged him out of the defensive line repeatedly. He could see what was coming, but couldn't do anything about it.

"Good luck to any defender in that situation where Walsh and Mam are using their pace, combined with their brilliant ability to step back inside."

Speaking on Wide World of Sports' Immortal Behaviour, Johns also pointed to the strength of Penrith's back three, and how they give Cleary and the forward pack extra room.

He said the Broncos would be wise to kick the ball out of play as much as possible, to diminish their impact.

"The last, the game on the weekend, Dylan Edwards ran for over 200m. Brian To'o went for about 260. (Paul) Alamoti went for 240," he said.

"The closest forward was Lindsay Smith, he ran for 120. So to get to Nathan, you've got to stop their back three. So I'd be kicking the ball out.

"Tell your forwards, I want you to work that hard. I'm gonna give you a breather. Kick it out, slow the game down, takes Brian's (To'o) play two's out. 500 m between two wingers, they're freaky.

"They get them forward and on the back of their go forward, Lindsay Smith lays the line, Nathan kicks to the corner. If you can take the wingers out of it. You can stop their go forward."

Sunday's match will be played during the day and if records are anything to go by, Penrith will be most comfortable, despite a sold out Suncorp Stadium filled with Brisbane fans.

The Panthers have won 35 of their last 38 day games since 2019. Cleary has a 100 per cent record in day games - 26 out of 26.

"They've been together since they've been '15, '16, '17. They've been coached the same way coming through," Johns added.

"So when they lose (Stephen) Crichton, Casey McLean comes in they're educated to play this way.

"It's an amazing club, but that's what you have with stability. You can change on the run and players know their strengths."