Penrith legend and NSW Blues senior advisor Greg Alexander has slammed the ‘outrageous’ criticism of Panthers half-back Nathan Cleary following Sunday’s grand-final loss to Melbourne.
Cleary was on Thursday named at half-back in Brad Fittler’s extended 21-man NSW squad to face Queensland in Wednesday’s series opener in Adelaide.
The 22-year-old took the 26-20 loss to the Storm hard after throwing a crucial intercept pass in what was arguably his worst performance of an otherwise stellar season.
There were some suggestions the incumbent Blues No.7 should be rested from Game 1 to give him time to mentally recover from his grand-final heartbreak.
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But Alexander on Thursday night joined fellow Panthers legend Mark Geyer in condemning the ‘ridiculous’ commentary of Cleary in the aftermath of the NRL decider.
“Nathan didn’t win the Dally M but I thought Nathan was the player of the season and was in the top couple of players for Penrith just about for every game this year,” Alexander, a Panthers board member, told Wide World of Sports Radio.
“And if there’s one young man that’s mentally tough it’s Nathan Cleary and you can see that how he plays the game.
“So while disappointed with the grand-final loss, boy, we’re jumping to conclusions about him being mentally scarred.
“Outrageous, I think that sort of talk is. To think that Nathan Cleary, all of a sudden might not be able to aim up, it’s just ridiculous.”
