Cleary’s mum in tears after horrific injury, Knights claim shock upset

Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary started Sunday’s preliminary final from the bench due to a foot injury in a late change that surprised everyone.

Just 10 minutes after being substituted on, Cleary was taken off by a medi-cab at Accor Stadium after suffering a sickening lower-leg injury in his side’s devastating 22-14 loss against Newcastle, who were down a man for more than half the game.

Cleary took the ball to the line and was dragged down awkwardly in a tackle by Knights hooker Phoenix Crossland and immediately screamed out in pain.

Replays showed a clear hip-drop from Crossland as players from both teams stood around in sombre fashion as Cleary received medical attention.

“He’ll be very lucky not to be sent off here,” Andrew Johns said on Nine.

“Oh no, it [Cleary’s leg] shouldn’t be at that angle. You can see the reaction of the players, whether they heard a crack. This does not look good.”

Johns was on the money, with Crossland dismissed by referee Gerard Sutton.

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Word quickly filtered through that Cleary had suffered a suspected compound fracture to his ankle in a devastating moment.

“It is heartbreaking what we are seeing here,” Brenton Speed said.

Nine’s Danika Mason revealed that Cleary’s mum Bec was in tears watching on from the crowd, while his father Ivan looked on from the coach’s box.

Jack Cogger, who started the game at halfback, was rushed back into the fray after being subbed off for Cleary in the 26th minute.

The task was simple – hold on against a 12-man Newcastle outfit in the second half and help the Panthers into the grand final without Cleary.

“It’s never good to see one of your good mates go down injured like that, especially such an influential player in our team,” Cogger told Nine at the break.

“I’ve got a job to do for our team and we’ve got to win this game.”

Penrith were left stunned straight after the break, with winger Dom Young diving over in the corner to get Newcastle back in the contest.

The game was then blown wide-open when the Knights were awarded a penalty on the half-way line for a high tackle and Sandon Smith took off from a quick tap, racing 50 metres to score under the posts and send the crowd into raptures.

There was some debate on the Nine commentary team, particularly from Phil Gould, about whether Smith should have been allowed to resume play as soon as he did, given quick taps are not allowed for foul play penalties.

Regardless of how it played out, Gould labelled it a “magic moment” for Smith.

Penrith’s misery continued when Blaize Talagi was taken from the field with a suspected Achilles injury, forcing a reshuffle to the backline.

From there, the Panthers had ample opportunities to regain the lead, but the Knights’ goal-line defence continued to hang tough in the dying stages.

Smith then took an intercept on what ended up being the final play of the match, running the field to score, ending a 25-year grand final drought in the process.

The drama-filled clash started in fiery fashion, before Bradman Best isolated Talagi and raced into the clear, setting up an early Knights try for Francis Manuleleua.

Talagi made up for his missed tackle just moments later, chasing through to dive on a smart grubber kick from Cogger to level the scores.

The tensions between the two teams grew when Moses Leota made an error and Jermaine McEwen erupted, starting another scuffle that had questions marks over whether punches or slaps were thrown by either of the enforcers.

Cleary was substituted on before the half-hour mark with scores locked, copping plenty of boos from Newcastle supporters as he replaced Cogger in the halves.

“You can imagine the lift this is going to give his teammates,” Johns said.

That lift was only fleeting, but the Panthers did cross minutes after Cleary left the field as Lindsay Smith crashed over from close range for a half-time lead.