NRL

Penrith superstar Nathan Cleary has heaped the praise on senior teammates Mitch Kenny and Isaah Yeo after both made successful injury returns in the final round ahead of the NRL finals.

Speaking on 100% Footy on Nine, the Panthers skipper described their returns as ‘seamless’ and a huge boost as the club seeks to lift its fifth NRL Premiership trophy in six years.

“It was such a massive effort from them and they add so much to our team, not only on the field, but off the field through their leadership,” Cleary said.

Cleary revealed he was especially impressed — but not overly surprised — by the 55-minute performance Isaah Yeo who suffered a serious pectoral injury in Penrith’s Round 23 loss to the New Zealand Warriors, before opting for an intensive rehabilitation program rather than surgery.

MORE: Ratings shock as Kayo reveals most watched NRL match EVER

“I was like ‘what are you doing? You know, you can just wait’,” Cleary recalled when hearing Yeo would be returning weeks ahead of schedule in Round 27.

“But he was just set on (playing) and he’s like that, when he feels good he just wants to be out there, even two weeks after it happened, he was back doing most the training and I was pretty shocked by it.

“He was so determined and he’s obviously worked hard to get back… watching him yesterday, you would never think he was even injured.”

Is Nathan Cleary contract announcement coming?

In a hint that even more good news may be just around the corner for Panthers fans, Cleary also suggested there may be an announcement on his contract situation ahead of November 1 when he would otherwise hit the open market.

“There is a chance, yeah,” he grinned.

“We’ll see what happens.”

Cleary, Yeo and the Panthers host the Sydney Roosters at CommBank Stadium on Sunday afternoon with a preliminary finals spot up on the line. Kickoff at 4:05pm.

NRL

Is Nathan Cleary contract announcement coming?

Comments