Penrith Panthers star Nathan Cleary appeared to hit back at questions over his side’s status as one of the greatest rugby league teams to have ever played in Australia.
Ivan Cleary’s side secured their immortality in rugby league history by clinching their fourth-straight premiership title on Sunday, after beating Melbourne Storm 14-6 at the Accor stadium.
The Panthers, who have dominated the competition over the past four years, have been compared to some of the greatest teams in Aussie rugby league history, including the St George Illawarra Dragons, who won an astounding 11 consecutive premierships between 1956 and 1966.
But there are some who believe the Panthers wouldn’t be able to stack up against one of the of the great league sides of the 1980s, the Parramatta Eels.
While the Eels were only able to win three titles on the bounce – narrowly missing out on their own four-peat to the Bulldogs by two points in the 1984 final – former lose forward Ray Price rubbished claims that the Panthers had outdone his team.
‘No, no, no, no… not a hope,’ the Dally M medallist told The Daily Telegraph, when asked if the Panthers could beat his Eels side.
Penrith star Nathan Cleary has hit back at claims over his side’s credentials as one of the best Aussie rugby league teams of all time
Isaah Yeo (left) also dismissed the claims made by a league legend that the Panthers wouldn’t stack up against his old club
Former Eels star Ray Price had claimed that Penrith’s four-peat didn’t place the Panthers ahead of the 1980s Parramatta side
‘They haven’t gone past us. I don’t think this Penrith side would beat my Parramatta side.
‘While Penrith has done exceptionally well, that Parramatta side had every position covered and we had every tactic covered,’ he added.
‘We had plenty of players that could tackle. That [the 1980s Eels team] was our best side. Parramatta was a stronger side back then than this Penrith team.’
Cleary, who played a key role in the Panthers’ win on Sunday, setting up Liam Martin for a crucial try just before half-time, appeared to disagree with the rugby league greats’ point of view.
Taking to social media, Cleary reposted a link to the article in the Daily Telegraph on his Instagram story.
The halfback added a ‘thinking face’ emoji to the story and embedded the song ‘You Wish’ by Skepta onto the post.
Cleary hit back at the comments on Instagram, posting a ‘thinking face’ emoji accompanied by the song ‘You Wish’ by Skepta
Co-captain Isaah Yeo also palmed off the claims during the Panthers’ end-of-season awards night on Tuesday.
Addressing the comments, the Yeo said: ‘To that I’d like to say, four is more than three.’
The premiership winners emerged from their three-day celebrations for the presentation of the Merv Cartwright Medal at the Pullman Hotel in Sydney.
The players arrived for the red carpet event, suited and booted, with young prop Liam Henry receiving the Ben Alexander Rookie of the Year award. Matt Eisenhuth was crowned the clubman of the year while Yeo would win his second successive Merv Cartwright Medal.
On Tuesday, Ivan Cleary also confirmed what his son’s summer could look like, with Penrith anticipating that he will need surgery on his injured shoulder ahead of next season.
Cleary starred in the Panters’ victory on Sunday but could fly out to the UK to meet up with 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 with an injured shoulder all season – and has decided to delay badly needed surgery to be with his partner
Cleary said that the half-back could put the operation on hold so he could fly to the UK to spend time with partner Mary Fowler.
‘He’s heading overseas to see Mary, spend some time with her, and then he’ll get it done,’ he told Seven News at the club’s awards night on Tuesday.
‘(There was) a little bit of work today to see who needs surgery and whatnot. We’ve got some guys picked in rep teams which is always exciting, so good times.’
Cleary added: ‘I’ve met Mary… she’s a lovely girl and very mature for her age. They are very happy together, so that’s the main thing.’