Entering a qualifying final showdown with the Warriors, Nathan Cleary has revealed he will call on the advice of New Zealand All Blacks legend Dan Carter.
After claiming the Minor Premiership last weekend, the Penrith Panthers have set themselves up perfectly to claim their third successive NRL premiership, a feat that hasn't been done since the 1980s.
As they look to defeat the Warriors and advance straight into the preliminary final, Nathan Cleary has called on the advice of Dan Carter to give himself an added edge on Saturday.
Idolising him growing up, Dan Carter is recognised as one of the greatest rugby union players of all time and has scored the most international points in the sport- 1598 points in 112 Tests. Earlier this season, the All Blacks legend spent time with Cleary to work on his kicking technique and mental preparation heading into the season.
โWe talk here and there, which is cool, but I try not to fan boy too hard and bug him because growing up in New Zealand he was just someone you looked up to and he sort of seemed like a superhero,โ Cleary told NRL.com.
โEven until I got to meet him, I still saw him in that sort of light, so I was sort of nervous but it was a great experience and great to just have a kick with him and pick his brain.
โI really enjoyed it and hopefully I'll get to catch up with him again soon."
His time with Carter saw Cleary dramatically change his kicking style, in particular his practice routine for goal kicking. It is understood that in the past the halfback would kick from anywhere on the field, but he now has a structured plan in place.
His change in kicking technique has added an extra skill to his resume. It has also allowed the club to score more tries of kicks and provide the team with repetitive sets forcing drop outs from the opposition.
โI think mindset is just as important as the physical aspect of kicking, and also playing,โ Cleary added.
โHe spoke about that and what he used to do, and there were a lot of things around preparation and processes. He was very big on that. It was interesting to talk to him about that, it's something I value highly too, so that was cool.โ
While Cleary idolised Carter growing up, he has revealed that he has closely followed the career of Shaun Johnson, a player that he admits was his favourite player when he arrived on the rugby league stage.
Johnson's arrival to the NRL not only brought a ton of highlights but showed that halfbacks can run the ball more often than just being a supplier- something that is constantly seen in Cleary's game. The two will now go face-to-face as they look to get a week off and move one step closer to the 2023 Grand Final.
โShaun was probably my favourite player when he first came on the scene, just with what he was able to do,โ Cleary said.
โI think I enjoyed watching him so much because he was just able to do things that I would never be able to do. He was just a freak, so to see him perform so well has been really good and I've really enjoyed watching him this year.
โI think he's just grown in his game; he probably doesn't have the sort of speed that he had early on, but he's developed in other areas, and he has had one of his best years so it's cool to be coming up against him in a big game.โ
The Penrith Panthers will host the New Zealand Warriors at BlueBet Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 16:05 AEST, with the winner advancing straight to the preliminary final while the loser will get a double chance.
