The Penrith Panthers yet again emerged as the premier team in the National Rugby League in 2022 and look to extend their dominance in 2023, bringing in rugby union legend Dan Carter to help prepare for the upcoming season.
The 2023 season kicks off in under two weeks and the Panthers are chasing their third straight championship, having their sights set on the “dynasty” tag as their talented core continues to grow together.
Central to that core is scrum-half Nathan Cleary, the playmaker who led both his club and country to gold medals last year with the Kangaroos claiming the Rugby League World Cup.
Winning has become a habit for the 25-year-old Cleary, but there was still plenty of wisdom to absorb when a hero of his, Dan Carter, came into Panthers camp this week.
“It was a massive fanboy moment for me, I was frothing, it was pretty cool,” Cleary told 9 News.
“A lot of the stuff was just about mental, he gave me a few tips around that and just the way he speaks about that so fluently — it’s very impressive.
“He obviously put a lot of work into the mental side of things and in saying that, I’ll definitely look to undertake (that) as I get older. I know it’s very important so it was good to bounce ideas off him.”
The All Blacks enjoyed a historic winning period under Carter’s leadership, the former World Cup-winning No 10 has renowned mental skillset attributes and plenty of experience to offer the next generation of superstars, regardless of code.
Cleary and his Penrith side are gearing up for a unique challenge, facing Super League champions St Helens in the first World Club Challenge since 2020 due to Covid. St Helens have dominated the last four Super League seasons and dispatched the Dragons while competing in the NRL’s preseason challenge.
In that 2020 World Club Challenge match, St Helens came up short against the Roosters and are well aware of the challenge ahead of them when they face the best club side down under on Saturday.
Former NRL star Curtis Sironen lines up in the second row for St Helens in the clash and labelled the Penrith side “the benchmark of the rugby league world.
“They’ve dominated for the last three years,” Sironen told media.
“Playing them in 2020 and 2021, I got to know how good they were and how young they were. I’ve been watching them very closely… They’re just an outstanding club.
“When the Roosters went back-to-back, I didn’t think we’d see it again for a while but they’ve just gone bang. They’ve got this squad that’s getting better and better every year.”
