{"id":335352,"date":"2023-10-01T11:35:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T11:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=335352"},"modified":"2023-10-01T13:02:48","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T13:02:48","slug":"origin-stars-stage-fright-as-gun-bronco-matches-cleary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=335352","title":{"rendered":"Origin star's 'stage fright' as gun Bronco matches Cleary"},"content":{"rendered":"

T\ufeffhe Panthers have secured a special slice of history<\/a> by becoming the first team in 40 years to win three consecutive premierships after an astonishing comeback in the 2023 grand final<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Broncos<\/a> looked home and hosed with 15 minutes left to play but there was still one more twist to come as gun halfback Nathan Cleary inspired a come-from-behind victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Cleary was the star of the show, cementing his greatness with a second Clive Churchill Medal, there were plenty of other stunning grand final performances, along with a few flops.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Cleary snatches grand final for Panthers<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Broncos rinsed for horror grand final error<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

RECAP: <\/strong>How the 2023 NRL grand final unfolded<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wide World of Sports The Mole points them out with fearless grand final player \ufeffratings.<\/p>\n

\"2023<\/p>\n

PENRITH PANTHERS<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. Dylan Edwards<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ran for nearly 300 metres in a typical Edwards big-game performance.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Sunia Turuva<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got few chances but did his job running the ball from the back, making 150 metres.<\/p>\n

Rating: 6.5<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Izack Tago<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solid without being spectacular, defending solidly against the speedy Broncos outside backs.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Stephen Crichton<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his final game as a Panther, made it four tries in four grand finals and came up with some massive plays.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Crichton<\/p>\n

5. Brian To'o<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ran like a steam train when his team was in trouble, getting them into enemy territory time and again.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

6. Jarome Luai<\/strong><\/p>\n

Struggled with his nagging shoulder before being taken from the field after 50 minutes.<\/p>\n

Rating: 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

7. Nathan Cleary<\/strong><\/p>\n

After a curiously quiet first 40 minutes, came to life in the second half with two try assists and a 40\/20\u2026 and then the solo try that won it.<\/p>\n

Rating: 9<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Cleary's<\/p>\n

8. Moses Leota<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gave one of his best performances as a Panther, making the hard yards and scoring the try that got the team back from the brink.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

9. Mitch Kenny<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under-rated player, scored the game's opening try and was busy at dummyhalf – but missed a worrying 11 tackles.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

10. James Fisher-Harris<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ran for more metres than any Panthers forward and a tower of strength in the middle in defence.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

11. Scott Sorensen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quiet game by his standards, only making 57 metres, but came up with the intercept that sealed it at the death.<\/p>\n

Rating: 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

12. Liam Martin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another Panther down on his game, missing a couple of vital tackles but running the ball strongly.<\/p>\n

Rating: 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Tensions<\/p>\n

13. Isaah Yeo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solid without being spectacular, working hard in his 68 minutes on the field.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

14. Jack Cogger<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got half an hour and did the right thing, giving Cleary the ball in time and space.<\/p>\n

Rating: 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

15. Lindsay Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of a host of Panthers to miss Ezra Mam in his golden patch and did little with the ball.<\/p>\n

Rating: 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

16. Spencer Leniu<\/strong><\/p>\n

Only got 22 minutes of game time, defended strongly but had little impact in attack.<\/p>\n

Rating: 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

17. Luke Garner<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also played 22 minutes and couldn't really get into the game.<\/p>\n

Rating: 4.5<\/strong><\/p>\n

BRISBANE BRONCOS<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. Reece Walsh<\/strong><\/p>\n

Made some mistakes in the first half but put the Broncos in a position to win the game with some massive plays in the second.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Concern<\/p>\n

2. Jesse Arthars<\/strong><\/p>\n

The least rated of the four wingers on the field but had a fine game, highlighted by a first half line break.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7.5<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Kotoni Staggs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ran strongly but finished a close second in a fascinating battle with Crichton.<\/p>\n

Rating: 6.5<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Herbie Farnworth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Completed his best-ever season in the NRL with a classy performance, running the ball with power and purpose.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Broncos<\/p>\n

5. Selwyn Cobbo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seemed to suffer a bit of stage fright on the game's biggest night, down on his form of earlier this season.<\/p>\n

Rating: 5.5<\/strong><\/p>\n

6. Ezra Mam<\/strong><\/p>\n

His three second half tries gave the Broncos every chance to win the premiership – way too fast for the Panthers out wide in a blistering game.<\/p>\n

Rating: 9<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Mam<\/p>\n

7. Adam Reynolds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Overcame a painful first-half groin injury to lead the Broncos in fine style. Kicking superb – in general play and for goal. <\/p>\n

Rating: 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

8. Thomas Flegler<\/strong><\/p>\n

Out-muscled the Panthers up front, scoring his team's first try, making the hard yards and getting away some good offloads.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Flegler<\/p>\n

9. Billy Walters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Played his part in the the Broncos' strong performance, kicking a 40\/20 and directing play from dummyhalf.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

10. Payne Haas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Usually known for his attack, topped the Broncos' tackle count but also made some telling runs.<\/p>\n

Rating: 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

11. Kurt Capewell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not a happy night against his former club, making little yardage and missing a vital tackle on Cleary.<\/p>\n

Rating: 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

12. Jordan Riki<\/strong><\/p>\n

Strong and aggressive, he troubled the Panthers defence on the edge.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"'Quirk<\/p>\n

13. Patrick Carrigan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tried his heart out to stem the Penrith tide, running for 150 metres and making some vital tackles.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7.5<\/strong><\/p>\n

14. Tyson Smoothy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Created the Broncos' opening try but caused little other trouble from dummyhalf.<\/p>\n

Rating: 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

15. Brendan Piakura<\/strong><\/p>\n

Made just two runs for 14 metres in his 20 minutes on the field.<\/p>\n

Rating: 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

16. Kobe Hetherington<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did little in attack from the bench but did come up with one wonderful trysaving tackle.<\/p>\n

Rating: 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

17. Keenan Palasia<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most effective of the Broncos' bench men, running for 150 metres.<\/p>\n

Rating: 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

T\ufeffhe Panthers have secured a special slice of history by becoming the first team in 40 years to win three consecutive premierships after an astonishing […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":335349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335352"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=335352"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335371,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335352\/revisions\/335371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/335349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=335352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=335352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=335352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}