Nathan Cleary appreciation thread.

[Jane Murray]

Some people were up in arms when Maloney left, I wasn't one of them. This article is a great read.

 

[WestyLife]

https://forums.leagueunlimited.com/threads/nathan-cleary.476131/page-30

 

[ACTPanthers]

Don't know about "up in arms" when Jimmy left - The main voice was saying it was a good time for him to move on, and that Cleary would flourish with more responisibity, which with the limited sample size, appears to be true. A few people saw this coming with Oldy/Westy being one of the major voices.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Cleary is doing well, but mentioning him alongside Thurston does him no favours.

Aside from Thurston being one of the all time greats, I think their styles are quite different.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Best comparison I’ve seen for Cleary is Craig Gower. Very similar styles of play.

 

[betcats]

Cleary is doing well, but mentioning him alongside Thurston does him no favours.

Aside from Thurston being one of the all time greats, I think their styles are quite different.

It was Tamou that said that and he was comparing their competitiveness not their style or ability etc


Nathan has exceeded even my expectations this season. There were signs last season that Nathan might go to another level once he was out from under Jimmy's wing but he has really owned the side when he has played this year. He is a real controlling half and he shown a lot more creativity and a little more ball playing than previous seasons, its been great(besides that tik tok shit) to see himm playing with such confidence and developing into a top notch half back.

 

[Jane Murray]

It was Tamou that said that and he was comparing their competitiveness not their style or ability etc


Nathan has exceeded even my expectations this season. There were signs last season that Nathan might go to another level once he was out from under Jimmy's wing but he has really owned the side when he has played this year. He is a real controlling half and he shown a lot more creativity and a little more ball playing than previous seasons, its been great(besides that tik tok shit) to see himm playing with such confidence and developing into a top notch half back.

And he is only 22 years young.

 

[herbert henry1908]

It was Tamou that said that and he was comparing their competitiveness not their style or ability etc

Fair point, but I still don’t think it does him any good to mention him alongside JT. That only increases the pressure.

 

[WestyLife]

Don't know about "up in arms" when Jimmy left - The main voice was saying it was a good time for him to move on, and that Cleary would flourish with more responisibity, which with the limited sample size, appears to be true. A few people saw this coming with Oldy/Westy being one of the major voices.

Indeed it wasn't all doom and gloom predictions @Jane Murray

 

[ACTPanthers]

Fair point, but I still don’t think it does him any good to mention him alongside JT. That only increases the pressure.

Which, as you rightly imply, is generally a bad thing. But Cleary has shown in the past that he can't be held to such common assumptions. The way this young bloke handles pressure is phenomenal, and I personally think any pressure placed on him would only serve to increase his desire to become better.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Which, as you rightly imply, is generally a bad thing. But Cleary has shown in the past that he can't be held to such common assumptions. The way this young bloke handles pressure is phenomenal, and I personally think any pressure placed on him would only serve to increase his desire to become better.

Maybe, hard to know.

But a big reason he’s polarising is because he’s been so hyped from day one. Expectations are a funny thing, and those placed on him were like he’s the next superstar.

 

[mxlegend99]

I was confident and vocal in my belief we would see Cleary step up when he didnt have a senior playmaker to try working with.

He proved multiple times that he could run the team well when we were missing Moylan and then Maloney. He was happy to let the senior experienced playmakers run the team and do his best to work with them.

He got slammed for it despite fans on here wanting him to do that very thing. His first few games with Jimmy when Nathan ran the show he was in good form and Jimmy wasn't. Nathan gets injured. Jimmy steps up while hes out and people call for Nathan to do exactly what he did as it was in the best interest of the team.

 

[Fangs]

Positive signs so far, but like the RCG conversation I'll be keen to keep watching.

A first class hooker and having full responsibility over the team appear to really help his game. The better halves are also getting the benefit of set restarts and facing tired forwards. We have barely had any of those so when that swings around we might get to see him play even better.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I was confident and vocal in my belief we would see Cleary step up when he didnt have a senior playmaker to try working with.

He proved multiple times that he could run the team well when we were missing Moylan and then Maloney. He was happy to let the senior experienced playmakers run the team and do his best to work with them.

He got slammed for it despite fans on here wanting him to do that very thing. His first few games with Jimmy when Nathan ran the show he was in good form and Jimmy wasn't. Nathan gets injured. Jimmy steps up while hes out and people call for Nathan to do exactly what he did as it was in the best interest of the team.

The mistake we made with Maloney & Cleary was not having Maloney in charge. Instead we had this two sides of the field business. Maloney should’ve been first receiver as much as possible.


Cleary was still learning the game, better to have him stand back a little and let the experience run the show. Our record when Maloney played 7 was exceptional.

Maloney gets a lot of criticism here, but he had 10 games at halfback and we only lost 2.

 

[WestyLife]

The mistake we made with Maloney & Cleary was not having Maloney in charge. Instead we had this two sides of the field business. Maloney should’ve been first receiver as much as possible.


Cleary was still learning the game, better to have him stand back a little and let the experience run the show. Our record when Maloney played 7 was exceptional.

Maloney gets a lot of criticism here, but he had 10 games at halfback and we only lost 2.

Does he? I thought it was just his defence that was laughable.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Does he? I thought it was just his defence that was laughable.

I’ve seen a fair bit. And some others saying Cleary & Maloney didn’t work well together. The problem was more how they were used together.

 

[WestyLife]

I’ve seen a fair bit. And some others saying Cleary & Maloney didn’t work well together. The problem was more how they were used together.

I have said that before BUT my point was always that Nathan was taking a step back for the dominant personality to be in control. What you've suggested just before would've fixed the issue of a dominant/submissive halves pairing trying to control each side of the field.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I have said that before BUT my point was always that Nathan was taking a step back for the dominant personality to be in control. What you've suggested just before would've fixed the issue of a dominant/submissive halves pairing trying to control each side of the field.

Im not sure he took a step back, it was mostly the same way we played before Maloney came. (the period where Moylan played 5/8) But I do think Maloney should’ve led the team around the park.

 

[mxlegend99]

Im not sure he took a step back, it was mostly the same way we played before Maloney came. (the period where Moylan played 5/8) But I do think Maloney should’ve led the team around the park.

He came in and it was Moylans team. He had a chance to step up once Moylan left. His first couple games with Jimmy he was among our best. Jimmy was terrible. He got injured and Jimmy took over and performed better without Cleary in the team. Jimmy just worked best when he ran the team.

When Cleary was fit he had to find a balance where Maloney could play his best footy and he was still good for us. He did that.

When Nathan tried to be our dominant player it made Jimmy useless. That's how I saw it atleast. Looking back there's plenty to support it:

Cleary doing exceptionally well with May when Moylan was out. But also being handy when Moylan was playing. Nathan let Moylan play how he wanted.
Cleary starting off 2018 in good form before Jimmy took over. Maloney came in saying it was Nathans team. But 3 games later hes hes injured and everyonesaid it had to be Jimmys team.
Cleary having his best games when Jimmy wasn't in the team.
Cleary now being one of the form halves in the competition and showing a lot more variety than people thought he had.

I think it all points to him stepping back for dominant players. But each to his own. He's thriving as the primary playmaker now and however we saw his past few years is irrelevant to his present and future form.

 

[Kilkenny]

It’s hard to believe Nathan only turns 23 this November. 84 NRL games under his belt and he’s had a few injury issues to deal with.

His greatest asset perhaps if that he is such as competitor, maybe not naturally gifted like the Andrew Johns, Greg Alexander’s and many of the games great halfbacks but tough as teak as we saw on the weekend getting out of his hospital bed to deliver on the field when we needed him.