Billy Slater calls out Nathan Cleary's post-game comments as grand final injury details emerge

Melbourne Storm legend Billy Slater has called out Nathan Cleary and questioned his comments on his shoulder injury as the Panthers medical team weigh-up whether to use painkilling injections for the first in the NRL finals series for the halfback. Cleary sent a scare throughout the Panthers camp having come off with a few minutes to go in Penrith's win over the Sharks.

Cleary clutched at his troublesome shoulder, which saw him miss a number of games to end the regular season having injured it against the Storm. “Cleary in a little bit of trouble," Fox Sports commentator Dane Ginnane said. "The first time we have seen that tonight. For the first time in this finals series Nathan Cleary is troubled by that shoulder injury.”

However, Cleary appeared to dismiss any suggestion of an injury and rotated his arm to dispel any worries from fans. "It's all good, it was just a bit of a knock," he said. "It was always going to be one of things where I wasn't at 100 per cent.

"I definitely felt confident to go back out on the field and play ... I wasn't even thinking about it. Even after that little incident, I played the next two sets and was sweet."

However, Maroons coach and Storm legend Slater has questioned whether the Panthers star - who had two try assists and a 40/20 against the Roosters - was putting on more of a charade to fool his rivals. The Storm have already suggested they won't overly target Cleary this weekend with team's using the tactic in the NRL finals series coming up short.

And Slater was in awe of Cleary's toughness in that Roosters game. "You don't clutch at it unless you feel it," Slater told Channel Nine's The Billy Slater Podcast. "I admire Nathan's toughness. It's one thing we don't speak about a whole heap with Nathan Cleary... this is not something new to Nathan."

Although Slater feels Cleary is using some smoke and mirrors to not give his rivals an edge ahead of the NRL grand final. This comes as speculation increases over the severity of Cleary's injury. "It's whether that shoulder holds up, that's the biggest thing. I've played with shoulder injuries in the past and had to get surgery at the end of the year... they are not comfortable to play with," Slater added.

"If he says he is OK, that's a surface comment. He knows that he's carrying it. I'm sure he will feel he'll be OK but it's certainly a question mark. It's not ideal, but he's been carrying it all year."

Nathan Cleary to 'limit' training ahead of grand final

And Slater's comments come as The Sydney Morning Herald have reported Cleary is expected to undergo a lighter training regime in the build-up to the grand final due to his shoulder. The three-time premiership winning halfback clearly clutched at his shoulder in the 71st minute in the win over the Sharks.

Cleary has not needed painkilling injections for his shoulder for the two games against the Roosters and the Sharks so far in the finals series. However, the publication reports the Panthers medical team are weighing-up the option after Saturday night's clash.

The halfback will still undertake the Friday tackling drills ahead of the grand final. The Storm have already dismissed deliberately sending too much traffic Cleary's way in the final, to see if his defence holds up with his shoulder, after the 2018 grand final. Cooper Cronk famously played in the 2018 final with an injured shoulder, but managed to navigate the game to help the Roosters defeat the Storm.

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And Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes has dismissed talks the Storm will alter their tactics to focus on the his number. "I think if we focus too much on him and his injury, then I think that's not going to go well for us," Hughes said.

"A few of the boys played in the '18 grand final and they bring up that they probably focused on Cooper too much, more than they needed to, and it probably came back to bite them. We've fully learned from that as a club, and we probably won't be looking at that too much and be more focused on what we could do as a team to be better."