Potential starts to show in the west

PENRITH were headed down a familiar path in 2016 until a crucial change was made to the team’s structure at the halfway mark of the competition. The Panthers had suffered a run of narrow losses – mostly by one or two points – but the bottom line after 11 games was five wins and six losses and on their existing path, a place in the finals would be out of reach. New coach Anthony Griffin bit the bullet and handed 18-year-old halfback Nathan Cleary his NRL debut, figuring that the youngster was ready and that his team would benefit from his array of skills. An Australian Schoolboy representative in 2015, Cleary had dominated in the Holden Cup but only time would tell if he could handle the physical demands of the NRL…

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Official Rugby League Annual (Digital) - 1 Issue, 2016 Edition

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