Penrith Panthers star Nathan Cleary appeared to respond to questions about his side’s status as one of the greatest rugby league sides to ever play in Australia.
Ivan Cleary’s side secured immortality in rugby league history by claiming their fourth consecutive premiership title on Sunday after beating Melbourne Storm 14-6 at Accor Stadium.
The Panthers, who have dominated the competition for the past four years, have been compared to some of the greatest teams in Australian rugby league history, including the St George Illawarra Dragons, who won an impressive eleven consecutive premierships between 1956 and 1966.
But there are some who believe the Panthers would not be able to compete against the Parramatta Eels, one of the major league sides of the 1980s.
While the Eels could only win three titles in the 1984 final – narrowly missing out on their own four-pointer to the Bulldogs by two points in the 1984 final – former losing forward Ray Price denied the claim that the Panthers had outscored his team.
“No, no, no, no… no hope,” he said The Daily Telegraph.
Penrith star Nathan Cleary has hit back at claims about his side’s reputation as one of the best Aussie rugby league teams of all time
Isaah Yeo (left) also dismissed a league legend’s claims that the Panthers would not make it against his old club
Former Eels star Ray Price had claimed Penrith’s four-peat did not put the Panthers ahead of the Parramatta side of the 1980s
‘They didn’t pass us by. I don’t think this Penrith side would beat my Parramatta side.
“Although Penrith did exceptionally well, Parramatta had every position covered and we had every tactic covered,” he added.
‘We had enough players who could tackle. That [the 1980s Eels team] was our best side. Parramatta was a stronger team than this Penrith team at the time.”
Cleary, who played a key role in the Panthers’ victory on Sunday, netting Liam Martin a crucial try just before half-time, appeared to disagree with the rugby league greats’ stance.
On social media, Cleary reposted a link to the Daily Telegraph article on his Instagram story.
The halfback added a ‘thinking face’ emoji to the story and included Skepta’s song ‘You Wish’ in the post.
Cleary responded to the comments on Instagram and posted a ‘thinking face’ emoji, accompanied by the song ‘You Wish’ by Skepta
Co-captain Isaah Yeo also dismissed the claims at the Panthers’ end-of-season awards ceremony on Tuesday.
Responding to the comments, the co-captain said: “To that I would like to say: four is more than three.”
The premiership winners emerged from their three-day celebration of the Merv Cartwright Medal presentation at the Pullman Hotel in Sydney.
The players arrived in suits and boots for the red carpet event, with young prop Liam Henry collecting the Ben Alexander Rookie of the Year award. Matt Eisenhuth was crowned clubman of the year, while Yeo would win his second consecutive Merv Cartwright medal.
On Tuesday, Ivan Cleary also confirmed what his son’s summer could look like, with Penrith expecting him to need surgery on his injured shoulder next season.
Cleary starred in the Panthers’ victory on Sunday but could fly to Britain to meet his girlfriend Mary Fowler
Man City star Fowler posted her support for Cleary on Instagram after the win by donning a Panthers
The footy superstar has been battling an injured shoulder all season and has decided to postpone much-needed surgery to be with his partner
Cleary said the halfback was able to postpone the operation so he could fly to Britain to spend time with partner Mary Fowler.
“He’s going abroad to see Mary, spend some time with her, and then he’ll sort it out,” he told Seven at the club’s awards ceremony on Tuesday.
“(There was) a little bit of work today to see who needs surgery and who doesn’t. We have selected a number of boys into rep teams, which is always exciting, so good times.”
Cleary added: “I met Mary… she is a lovely girl and very mature for her age. They’re very happy together, so that’s the most important thing.’