'I had no say in the matter': Nathan Cleary beaming after father helps overturn crucial NRL ban

If Ivan Cleary ever wants a new role after coaching, law might be his next step after he successfully represented his son Nathan at the NRL judiciary and had a two-match ban wiped on Monday night.

The superstar halfback could not wipe the smile from his face as he fronted media following a high tackle charge being thrown out, with help from his father and Panthers coach.

They opted for a judiciary hearing to downgrade a charge after he was hit with a two-week ban by the match review committee for a grade two careless high tackle on Heamasi Makasini in Penrith's trial match against the Tigers.

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He risked a three-match ban for the call and the Panthers opted to have Ivan represent him instead of a lawyer. It proved a masterstroke with Cleary's charge ruled a grade one, which resulted in a fine of $1800 and no games missed.

"Thankyou to the panel for a fair hearing," Nathan said with a smirk on his face.

"Thankyou to (Ivan), it's a big effort. Disappointed I had to put him through that extra little bit of work outside his normal job, but (I'm) grateful for his effort.

"I had no say in the matter, he was pretty confident I think.

"There were mixed thoughts because I think the last few times he's been to the judiciary it hasn't worked out too well. But I trusted him and we thought we had a pretty good case.

"You want to be playing in the big games and it's no tougher than starting the season up in Brisbane. We've got a pretty tough start to the year too, and I wanted to be a part of that."

Penrith face the Broncos in week one in Brisbane and then head to Bathurst to play the Sharks in round two.

Cronulla great Luke Lewis was glad to see Cleary's ban thrown out.

"I actually thought 'how did he get sent to the bin?', I didn't think he had any contact to the head at all," Lewis told ABC Sport after the hearing.

"I'm so glad he got off. I would have been filthy if he had to serve three weeks on the sideline."

The 28-year-old immediately acknowledged the tackle was high and apologised to Makasini, before looking up at the big screen at Leichhardt Oval.

The halfback was called out by referee Ashley Klein, where he was placed on report and sent to the bin for 10 minutes as the Tigers fans booed him off.

Ivan told the judiciary he thought it was best to "give a bit of rugby league context" with Nathan explaining his belief it was shoulder to shoulder contact.

NRL legal counsel Lachlan Gyles argued the grade was down to force, carelessness and risk of injury, explaining if Makasini did not rotate his head he could have been given facial injuries.

Ivan continued Penrith's argument that it was indirect contact that was initially shoulder to shoulder and made the point there was no HIA.

A 12-minute deliberation delivered the call in favour of Penrith.

During the trial game, Brian To'o opened the scoring for the Panthers but it was Makasini who set the rugby league world alight once again - this time against one of the league's powerhouses - after his incredible hat-trick last weekend.

The 18-year-old made a break down the left-hand touchline and got the crowd on their feet, but was stopped in a good cover tackle by Dylan Edwards.

Less than 10 minutes later, Makasini was away again - this time courtesy of some fancy Jarome Luai footwork that set up an overlap - down the same sideline.

The rookie winger brushed off multiple defenders before eyeballing Edwards again, this time running straight over the Panthers and NSW fullback in devastating fashion.

Makasini's try was compared to the exploits of All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu during half time of the broadcast by league great Braith Anasta.

Jahream Bula also got on the scoreboard for the Tigers in the first half, before Paul Alamoti crossed for the Panthers to give his side a narrow lead.

The game fizzled out slightly in the second half with both teams taking some of their big guns off the field, while Cleary didn't come back on after his time in the bin.

But with just 11 minutes to go, it was little-known Tigers forward Lachlan Broederlow who broke the game open, picking up a grubber kick from young playmaker Javon Andrews to score and put the home side ahead.

Luke Laulilii and Heath Mason put the icing on the cake in the final three minutes in what was a promising night for Benji Marshall's side.