Fine to play: Nathan Cleary cleared for preliminary final appearance

Nathan Cleary has been hit with a grade-one dangerous contact charge for his tackle on Sydney Roosters’ playmaker Hugo Savala, but can escape with a fine and play in Penrith’s preliminary final next weekend.

The match review committee on Monday charged Cleary for his contentious tackle on Savala just before half-time during Sunday’s 19-12 win over the Roosters.

Referee Gerard Sutton binned Cleary and told him: “There’s force in it, it’s very dangerous, and there’s a high risk of injury.”

Former Manly prop Josh Aloiai was hit with a grade-two dangerous contact charge for a tackle on Shaun Johnson in 2024, as was South Sydney’s Jacob Host.

Coach Ivan Cleary said after the win: “He’s just trying to make a play, he’s thinking the right thing there, but the angle was wrong, and under the current rules, it is what it is.

“The same thing happened to him down near the goal posts earlier in the game.

“You could tell he was definitely disappointed. Like I said, he was thinking the right thing in terms of trying to make a play at that point – he did the same thing to ‘Burto’ [Matt Burton] last year, Burto is a left-footer, so it was a better angle [to tackle him]. [But] Hugo wasn’t injured.”

In other Panthers news, Jack Cogger is returning from suspension and is a halves option for the Panthers, who will host the winner of the Warriors and Knights at Accor Stadium.