{"id":406843,"date":"2024-06-27T03:07:13","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T03:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=406843"},"modified":"2024-06-27T06:09:11","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T06:09:11","slug":"maguires-telling-response-to-awkward-cleary-headache","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=406843","title":{"rendered":"Maguire's telling response to awkward Cleary headache"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blues<\/a> coach Michael Maguire<\/a> has given a telling response when quizzed about a potential Origin III selection headache.<\/p>\n

Sidelined from the first two matches of the series with a hamstring injury, Nathan Cleary<\/a> is an outside chance at being available for a return in the decider at Suncorp Stadium next month.<\/p>\n

In Cleary's absence, Mitchell Moses<\/a> \ufeffwas man of the match at halfback having had a hand in almost all of the Blues seven tries<\/a> in the 38-18 win.<\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> 'Way too easy': Maroons gun ripped for horror show<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> AFL great unimpressed by Blues hero's monster grab<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\ufeff<\/strong> 'Disappointed' Cotter's daughter melts hearts in TV moment<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In normal circumstances, Cleary has a mortgage on the Blues No.7 jersey. But given the performance Moses and his Blues teammates put in at the MCG on Wednesday night, it would be a tough sell to make any unnecessary changes.<\/p>\n

\"Blues<\/p>\n

Speaking on Nine's Today<\/em> on Thursday morning, Maguire said it was a "nice problem to have" given the Blues' injury crisis ahead of the series-opener in Sydney.<\/p>\n

"I guess I've learnt within this job, two or three months ago, I was watching week in, week out where players were," he said.<\/p>\n

"We had a few challenges with injuries, (but) all of a sudden we've got the momentum going back the other way. It's a really nice thing to have.<\/p>\n

"I'll face that when the time is right.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 State of Origin series exclusively live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Mitchell<\/p>\n

"They are two quality humans, but the way the players played last night, they've shown exactly how we want to be and how we want to play."<\/p>\n

One of a string of high-profile players caught up in the NRL's epidemic of soft-tissue injuries, Cleary \ufeffhas made just five appearances for the Panthers this season as he battles a recurring hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

He was originally slated to miss eight weeks of football.<\/p>\n

Cleary's father and Panthers coach Ivan Cleary indicated it would be more than that by the time he returns to the field.<\/p>\n

Ivan said on Wednesday he was hopeful the halfback's comeback would come against the Dolphins in round 20, which would rule him out of Origin III contention.<\/p>\n

\"Nathan<\/p>\n

The Panthers face the Cowboys and Broncos in the next two weeks, and then enjoy a bye in round 19. They'll host the Dolphins at BlueBet Stadium the week after.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"But that hasn't been confirmed," he said.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffHe's steadily going through his rehab and it's going well. Let's hope he keeps going well.<\/p>\n

"(Round 20) was a fairly loose target and it hasn't been confirmed, but his rehab is going well."<\/p>\n

\"2024<\/p>\n

Without Cleary, the Panthers suffered shock losses to the Warriors and Dragons, although the latter was heavily Origin-affected. The Panthers still sit \ufeffsecond on the ladder, a game behind the Storm, and boast the best defensive record in the comp.<\/p>\n

"(His return date) has nothing to do with how we've been playing. This decision was made from the time he had the second injury," he said.<\/p>\n

"The bye is a part of it because if your team's not here, you miss full team training which actually adds to the length of the rehab.<\/p>\n

"At this stage everything is on track."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blues coach Michael Maguire has given a telling response when quizzed about a potential Origin III selection headache. Sidelined from the first two matches of […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":406845,"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\/406843"}],"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=406843"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406848,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406843\/revisions\/406848"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/406845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=406843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=406843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=406843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}