TWELVE months ago little was known about Penrith Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now, the talented youngster is one of the key members of the Panthers side who are on their way to the top.
Cleary made his debut in June 2016 at one of the toughest away trips in the Telstra Premiership – Melbourne in Melbourne.
He admitted he was surprised at the time to receive the call that he would line up against seasoned professionals Cameron Smith and directly opposite Cooper Cronk.
“I remember I was pretty tired after about five minutes and after the game, but it was definitely a tough one to do Melbourne in Melbourne, it doesn’t get much tougher than that,” he said.
“In saying that, it was good to experience that with players like Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith, but it made me a better player.
“To be honest I didn’t even expect to play first grade last year, but halfway through the year it was a pleasant surprise.”
Cleary is signed to stay at the foot of the mountains until the end of 2019.
He has his sights set on a possible appearance in the sky blue jersey, but knows he might have to bide his time.
The 19-year-old admitted his rise through the ranks and into first grade was reasonably seamless.
“I was lucky enough to come into such a good and young team and ended up going pretty well at the back end of the year and I took a lot out of it,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone put any pressure on me, it was more so an opportunity for me to make my own name for myself and to come in and that gave me more incentive to play better and get the respect from most of my teammates.”
The Penrith junior acknowledged he exceeded expectations in 2016 and the challenge now was to continue his performances in 2017.
“This year I’m just trying to stay in the team and keep a good winning percentage,” he said.
“If rep honours come up along the way I’ll take that on board, but at the moment I’m focusing on club footy and securing a spot every week.”
Cleary had never been to Port Macquarie prior to this week’s three-day training camp, which included a coaching clinic on Wednesday morning.
While teammates Matt Moylan and James Tamou were “King of the kids”, Cleary had his own fanbase which is growing.
“It’s awesome to come up to Port Macquarie and meet all the kids who are keen on footy which is good to see,” he said.
“I’d never been here before, but it’s a nice little town and good little getaway from Sydney.”
The teenager admitted the team would like to return to the NRL finals after their brief taste of it in 2016.
“Hopefully we can go a bit further into the finals this year, because we’ve got a lot of experience from last year’s little stint in the play-offs,” he said.