Nathan Cleary has now entered Wally Lewis’ realm. This is how Brisbane stop him

Two brilliant attacking teams, a sold-out Suncorp Stadium, and a dry, fast track: it all promises yet another Sunday afternoon special – with Nathan Cleary in charge of it all.

The Panthers halfback is in phenomenal form and at 27, is at the point where he knows his game inside out.

His performance against Canterbury – who did run out of steam, to be fair – was just a pure finals masterclass where Cleary did what he pleased.

I sat back and watched only Nathan for 10 to 15 minutes at Accor Stadium last Sunday, and the way he took complete charge was Wally Lewis-esque. The King had an ability to switch on when he needed to, pull the trigger and completely dominate a contest like no other player could.

We’re now seeing Nathan Cleary do the same. He simply doesn’t waste energy or any plays where he doesn’t need to.

His timing, his commitment to attacking plays when he does swing Penrith into gear, the patience and control he possesses, and ability to pick his moments – again it’s what made Wally one of the greatest we’ve ever seen.

You could show Cleary’s entire game against the Bulldogs as an example of this.

But two tries in particular – Brian To’o’s second four-pointer and Paul Alamoti’s third in the second half – showed perfectly just how Cleary slots in alongside Isaah Yeo, sets up the defence and just pulls them apart.

Penrith’s ball runners and ball players are so well versed in their systems that they know exactly what’s expected of them.

Cleary pulls the strings with Yeo to free up Dylan Edwards on the right and Blaize Talagi on their left, and when their No.7 has dry-weather conditions to work in, you end up with a masterpiece.

Run Reece, run: How Brisbane pick Penrith apart

The Broncos have their work cut out for them. But they also have the game plan that could bring Penrith unstuck – if they can get at Cleary.

Only the greatest 17 minutes from a halfback I’ve seen stopped them in the 2023 grand final, but before Cleary’s heroics, Brisbane did set up what should have been a match-winning lead.

They did it the same way they need to attack on Sunday – using the speed and skill of Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam down Cleary’s edge.

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 Walsh attacking down the left, stepping and straightening the play up and trying to isolate Cleary and Liam Martin in defence.

These two-play sequences actually start with Adam Reynolds and Jordan Riki on the opposite edge.

Canterbury’s Jacob Preston successfully targeted young Talagi and Casey McLean last week and as good as he has been the past few months, McLean battled with a shoulder issue when the Bulldogs kept coming his way.

Reynolds needs to do the same with Riki and Kotoni Staggs. Send them at the gap between Talagi and McLean, work them over and build momentum.

If Brisbane can do that around halfway on the third, fourth and fifth tackles – when edge defenders typically grow passive and begin dropping back to cover kicks – then the long shift back left is on.

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.

This is when Walsh is at his most dangerous, and Canberra’s right-edge defence found out the hard way a few weeks ago.

Sunday’s grand final qualifier really could go either way. The only real certainty is we’re in for another fantastic afternoon affair.

Joey’s tip: Panthers by two
First try-scorer: Gehamat Shibasaki
Man of the match: Nathan Cleary

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