'He feels like he let everyone down': Cleary resigned to ban after send-off

Penrith playmaker Nathan Cleary told team-mates he felt like he had let them down after being sent off in Friday night’s 34-10 loss to Parramatta at CommBank Stadium.

Cleary was given his marching orders in the 18th minute for a lifting tackle on Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown and has been charged with a Grade Three Dangerous Throw offence, which will see him miss five games with an early guilty plea.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary had no complaints with the dismissal of his son and star playmaker, who he said was disappointed with his actions but had not intended to put Brown in a dangerous position.

“I think he is going to be missing for a bit, I don’t know how long but I suppose based on other examples this year it is probably likely,” Cleary said on Friday night.

“He feels like he has let everyone down. I think anyone who has been in that position would probably feel the same.

“I have just had a look at the incident now and it was a two-man tackle that turned into a one man tackle.

“I think that had something to do with it, but at the end of the day he ended up in a position we don’t want so if it obviously means being sent from the field I can’t argue with that.

“It was just one of those things, he certainly didn’t mean to do it. I think he has probably done a fair bit for our team over the years. I know Nat pretty well so it will just fuel his fire for later.”

Asked what he had said to Nathan, Cleary said: “I didn’t say anything really. What can you say?”.

Cleary was charged earlier this season with grade one dangerous contact for an incident involving Broncos utility Billy Walters in their round six clash but has never been suspended.

After watching a replay of the tackle in the dressing rooms at fulltime, Ivan Cleary said second-rower Liam Martin and prop James Fisher-Harris had initially been involved in the tackle but had dropped off.

“Nat was underneath, and I think Liam Martin was up the top. I think Fish was going to come in as well,” Cleary said. “Nat just took his base away and probably lifted a bit too much.

“I think we would expect at that point that the guys up the top would control that part of it but there was actually no control there and I think that is how it ended up how it did. That’s the outcome and that [the send-off] is fair enough.”

The Panthers are already without star five-eighth Jarome Luai for up to six weeks due to a knee injury but Cleary said they had prepared for the loss of key players.

Sean O’Sullivan deputised for Luai against the Eels and will take over the chief playmaking duties if Cleary is suspended.

“He will get a lot out of tonight, I thought Sean was really good,” Cleary said.

“We prepared this year for players missing at various times with Origin and whatnot, so I have utmost faith in the guys we have in our squad to be able to deal with injuries or guys missing.

“We are going to have got a few challenges over the next few weeks and I am confident the boys will take it on. Whoever is playing we will back ourselves to have a crack so that is what we will be doing.”