‘Definitely unfair’: But Cleary will happily cop grand final handicap

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has declared it is “definitely unfair” that one team will have almost two extra days to prepare for the NRL grand final, but says he will welcome the chance to feel aggrieved about that next week.

The Panthers face Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday almost 48 hours after the first preliminary final between Melbourne and Cronulla at AAMI Park, with the winners advancing into the premiership decider on Sunday week.

In previous seasons, the preliminary finals have been staged 24 hours apart, on Friday and Saturday the week before the title fight.

This year, however, the first team to qualify will receive have an additional day to prepare – which could be construed as a disadvantage for their grand final opponents.

Cleary agreed but acknowledged that, first and foremost, the Panthers have to get past a red-hot Brisbane side on Sunday before they worry about next week.

“First of all, it’s a good problem to have,” Cleary said. “It’s definitely unfair. But it is what it is.”

When it was pointed out that playing on Sunday allowed the Panthers extra time to recover from their 46-26 win against Canterbury in last week’s elimination finals, Cleary replied: “Yeah, it did.

“There’s all different ways you can look at it. At the end of the day, if that’s our problem next week, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Cleary’s immediate concern is getting his defending four-time champions past Brisbane and into the Big Dance. The Broncos will be fresh after their epic win against Canberra in week one of the play-offs and are boosted by the return from injuries of skipper Adam Reynolds and utility back Ezra Mam.

But all eyes will be on dynamic fullback Reece Walsh, who almost beat the Raiders single-handedly with 15 minutes of magic.

“Look, Reece is one of many weapons in their team, and whether it’s him or anyone else, the main thing is for us to control what we can do, for us to play well, and that gives us the best chance to try and limit what he can do,” Cleary said.

“He’s obviously going to have an impact on the game, and there’s going to be some scary situations throughout the game, but how we play and how we can control what we do gives us the best chance.”

The Panthers appear to be timing their run to perfection after producing a first half against the Bulldogs last week that delivered a finals-record 36-8 half-time scoreline.

“Can we replicate it? I’m not sure,” Cleary said. “But we’ll be doing our best to prepare to play our best because it’s what we’ll need.

“At this time of year, the stakes are high. You’re playing the best teams and under the most pressure. That’s what we prepare for.”

The coach admitted he was not surprised Penrith’s left-edge defence has attracted scrutiny this week after conceding three second-half tries against the Bulldogs last week.

“I don’t think it’s a real scoop that our left edge gets targeted,” Cleary said. “It’s been happening for probably 20 weeks in a row. The good thing about those boys is they learn on the run and learn from each situation.”

In an ominous warning for Brisbane, Cleary predicted his son Nathan – who produced a masterclass against Canterbury with a try and seven goals – had room for improvement.

“There’s definitely things that I can see that he can do better,” he said. “He knows that as well. But there’s little nuances here and there ... he’s always up for little things to get better at.”

Cleary was confident representative back-rower Liam Martin, who suffered a rib injury last week, would be cleared to take his place.

“Marto’s fine ... at this point, we’re confident he’ll be all right,” he said.

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