You’re not seeing things – Nathan Cleary has got funky with his kicking

A few of Nathan Cleary’s Penrith teammates have started joking about how their star halfback may have been learning kicking tricks from his Matildas partner, Mary Fowler.

The Panthers have been brilliant to start the 2026 NRL season, winning all three games and conceding just two tries.

They are expected to make it four on the trot on Saturday against western Sydney rivals Parramatta.

What has been impossible to miss is Cleary and the variety of funky kicks he has been brave enough to attempt this early in the campaign.

There have been the rifled dropouts along the ground that have bamboozled Cronulla and Sydney Roosters players.

There has also been a short looping dropout that landed 10m out right in front of the uprights against the Roosters, simply because Cleary did not want to send the ball in the direction of towering wingers Daniel Tupou and Mark Nawaqanitawase.

The banana kicks, including one that confused Roosters captain James Tedesco, and a second that swerved so severely, Penrith winger Brian To’o was unable to grasp it.

And the “chopper”, flat cross-field kicks that have stayed low, but travelled so fast they found an unmarked winger Tom Jenkins – twice – against Cronulla, only to fly into touch.

“I’m always trying new things,” a smiling Cleary said. “There are things I’ve worked at for a long time, and I want them there if the opportunity presents.

“I like the idea where whatever situation I’m in, I can try and manoeuvre a different kick to help us.

“It’s about practising what you can and can’t do. That’s the biggest thing for me. I won’t make up a kick during the game.

“You try to keep a few things in your kit bag. I like to work on all of them at training.”

Fans and TV commentators picked up on Cleary getting creative with his kicks against the Sharks, but once the Panthers kicked out to a decent lead against the Roosters, that’s when the game’s best halfback really backed himself.

Cleary shaped to kick the ball for a 40-20, and once he spotted Tedesco racing one way to try and cut it off, was quick enough to drop the ball on the outside of his boot and launch it to the other side of the field.

“That’s a kick I’ve tried to do since I was a kid,” said Cleary, about the “banana″⁣.

“That [play was me] adjusting on the run, and seeing what the fullbacks are doing. A lot of fullbacks like to cut off the 40-20, so it’s good to have that get-out option.

“The second one could have been a better kick for ‘Bizza’ [To’o]. They’re a difficult kick, but if you get that bit of extra time on the field, you can try them out and tinker with them.”

What about the variety of dropouts?

“I don’t get too technical – it’s not so much about the science, it’s more trial and error,” Cleary said.

“I’ll try things out – if they work, they work, and I’ll try to replicate it.

“The one that went right in front – the Roosters have tall wingers, so it didn’t make sense to kick out to them.”

The cross-field kicks for Jenkins evoked memories of Cooper Cronk keeping the ball low and flat for Valentine Holmes during the 2017 Origin series for Queensland. Both of Cleary’s attempts for Jenkins failed, but the Cronulla defence was nowhere to be seen, and you can expect that play to be on again.

Panthers co-captain Isaah Yeo and back-rower Liam Martin, who have spent years playing with Cleary at club and representative level, said they admired the way the halfback spent countless hours working on his kicking game after training.

But they were also still impressed whenever Cleary produced something special that most other playmakers were incapable of doing, or not confident enough to attempt during a game.

“It shows how in control of his game he is at the moment, and how confident he is,” said Yeo, who joked Fowler might have also been giving him pointers.

“You’ve got your No.7, who I think is the best player in the competition, playing at a level like that, and being super confident – it’s a good thing for our team.”

Martin, whose job it is to protect Cleary on the right edge in defence, said: “The amount of work he puts in behind the scenes – the hours and hours of practice he puts in trying to perfect his craft – there is nobody more diligent than him.

“But it’s still incredible to see what he does. I certainly wouldn’t be able to pull off some of the stuff he does.”

Fowler has one of the best right boots in women’s football, but Cleary played down any exchanging of the minds during their rare downtime.

“We don’t talk about it too much,” he said. “If something happens in the game, it’s cool to talk about it, but they’re different sports.”

Cleary praised Ben Harden, his old SG Ball coach who has taken over the attack for the NRL team this year, for “adding a new dimension”.

Any halfback will tell you their kicking game can only thrive if their pack is rolling forward. To keep rivals guessing, Cleary has run the ball on more than one occasion on the last tackle with plenty of success.

Is it any wonder Penrith fans are so desperate for Cleary to pledge his long-term future to the club, despite being contracted until the end of 2027?

“I’m definitely happy with the way we’ve started, but we still have a long way to go,” he said.

“Your attack won’t be at its peak this early in the season, but the main thing is we’re finding ways to put ourselves in the picture, and coming up with tries.”

The Panthers play their first home game at CommBank Stadium on Saturday, and despite sluggish early ticket sales, officials are now anticipating upwards of 22,000 fans.