Cleary cops whack but Panthers knock Warriors to canvas

Penrith star Nathan Cleary, more a lover than a fighter, wore a punch to the jaw as tensions boiled over in the Brisbane afternoon heat.

The opening game of Saturday’s Magic Round triple-header featured plenty of feeling between the Panthers and Warriors, with rookie forward Demitric Sifakula sin-binned for his sneaky right jab on Cleary.

Cleary and Spencer Leniu belted the ball loose from Josh Curran midway through the second half before a melee erupted. Replays showed Sifaluka, in just his second NRL game, raced over to Cleary and gave him what looked like an old-fashioned jumper punch for his troubles. The commentators called it a “brain explosion”.

Warriors coach Andrew Webster was frustrated Sifaluka was given 10 minutes. “The Demitric one, I feel like his hand is open, he is pushing him in the face - he was going to push him,” Webster said. “The next thing he is in the bin.”

Sifaluka said after the game about the punch “it is what it is”, while Cleary quipped he would try to avoid similar melees because “I can’t throw them”.

“I don’t want to get into any fights,” Cleary said. “I was missing a bit of physicality in that first half, my defence wasn’t the greatest, sometimes those things happen when two teams wear their hearts on their sleeve.”

The 19-year-old Sifaluka became the second Warrior binned following Jackson Ford’s 10-minute time-out for a hip-drop tackle on Leniu. There were delayed concussion concerns for Ford who failed to return from the bin.

Penrith won the match 18-6, and while they were clunky in attack for much of the game, the two points will be welcomed heading into next Friday’s clash against the Sydney Roosters.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary conceded as much and said after the match: “We’ve put a lot of effort into some big games this year. Everyone seems to have brought their best and we’ve had a lot of 80-minute wars.

“The good thing about that is whether you win or lose, you get conditioned to that sort of stuff and it helped us today. It’s a hard-earned two points every week.”

Cleary was the big difference again, especially with his kicking game.

Five-eighth Jarome Luai was also busy and would not have hurt his NSW Origin chances. Aside from the Cleary incident and two binnings, Stephen Crichton featured in two of the most brutal tackles you will see all season.

Crichton was ironed out by winger Edward Kosi midway through the first half before he produced an absolute bell-ringer of his own on Dylan Walker approaching the half hour.

The powerhouse centre launched himself into Walker who lost the ball on the final play. It pumped up the Penrith players with the bone-rattling tackle sure to be replayed countless times before the weekend is over.

Dylan Edwards palmed off Jackson Ford and stepped inside Harris to score an excellent individual try, while the fullback also came up with a try-saver on former Panthers winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

Shaun Johnson had some nice moments in the second half, including a couple of forced dropouts, but came up with a shabby kick on the final play in the first half that rolled into touch.

Johnson did not want to comment on a few of the contentious calls, but said: “We need to be better. We need to be more disciplined. If we think we can win a game with against one of the best teams in the comp with 12 people for half the second half, we’re kidding ourselves.”

Webster goes head-to-head with fellow former Panthers deputy Cameron Ciraldo and his Bulldogs next weekend.

Shaun Johnson ‘flattered’ by Tigers interest

Shaun Johnson says he is yet to hear from the Wests Tigers or coach Tim Sheens but is “flattered” they have identified him as a potential target. Sheens said with concerns over Adam Doueihi’s availability next season because of a knee injury, the club had discussed luring Johnson to Sydney.

“It’s only preliminary stages, he’s off-contract,” Sheens said. “Whether or not he’ll leave New Zealand is another thing. It’s only one of a few discussions to be quite honest that we’ve got planned.”

As for whether he would leave New Zealand a second time, Johnson said on Saturday evening: “I’m off contract, so everything is an option.

“All I will say is I’m loving my footy right now, I’m loving being a part of this group, I’m loving being a part of this environment, and what will be will be.”

Warriors coach Andrew Webster said he would keep negotiations private and “when the time comes to bring it up, we will sit down and have a good conversation”.

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