Panthers' Cleary set to play under Cleary

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has named son Nathan to make his first appearance of the NRL pre-season in Saturday's trial against Parramatta.

NRL PANTHERS CLEARY RESIGNING PRESSER

Panther Nathan Cleary will play his first pre-season game against the Eels on Saturday. (AAP)

Penrith star Nathan Cleary is set to make his first appearance under dad Ivan after being named to play in their NRL trial against Parramatta.

Cleary missed last week's pre-season win over South Sydney after continuing his recovery from ankle surgery over the summer.

However the NSW State of Origin halfback will get a run on Saturday in what will also be Ivan's first game at Panthers Stadium since his controversial return.

Panthers hitman Jack Hetherington has seemingly got the chance to fill the hole left by the injured Viliame Kikau, after being named in the second row.

Last year's NRL grand finalists Melbourne have named a near full-strength squad for their trial against North Queensland.

Veteran centre Will Chambers is the only notable absentee, with youngster Scott Drinkwater retaining the No.1 jumper for the second trial in a row.

The Storm take on a new-look Cowboys side that includes new faces Jordan Kahu, Nene Macdonald and Josh McGuire.

Kahu starts at fullback, while star playmaker Michael Morgan is also set to make his anticipated return from a season-ending bicep injury at five-eighth.

In other team news, St George Illawarra have left out Jack de Belin due to player welfare concerns for their annual Charity Shield match against South Sydney.

Dragons coach Paul McGregor named a 23-man squad, with veterans James Graham and Tyson Frizell named for their first hitouts of the season.

They take on a Rabbitohs side missing Greg Inglis and Adam Reynolds, both of whom have yet to appear in any of their pre-season trials.

Ethan Lowe, who signed with the club on Tuesday morning, is on the bench.

Newcastle coach Nathan Brown has opted not to rest any of his players that featured in last week's trial loss to St George Illawarra.

Instead, the Knights will get to pump more minutes into their new-look spine for their match against Cronulla in Maitland.

The Warriors, Wests Tigers, Cronulla, Sydney Roosters, Manly and Gold Coast were yet to name their trial teams as of Tuesday evening.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world