Nathan Cleary in NRL finals masterclass for Penrith as Roosters dudded by 'horrible' call

Penrith superstar Nathan Cleary returned from injury to help mastermind an impressive NRL finals win over the Roosters on Friday night, but it was a controversial call that dudded the Tri Colours which stole many of the headlines. Cleary and the Panthers were almost perfect in the first half as they raced out to a 24-0 lead but the Roosters hit back in the second forty before succumbing to a 30-10 defeat in Penrith.

The Roosters were blown away in the first half but hit back in stunning style with tries to Joseph Suaalii and James Tedesco in the first six minutes after the break. Whatever coach Trent Robinson said at halftime seemed to do the trick for the visitors and they well and truly had the ascendancy after threatening to stage an epic comeback.

Suaalii looked set to race clear of Penrith's defence and make it a 24-16 ball game with plenty of time still left on the clock but referee Ashley Klein controversially pulled it back for a forward pass from Daniel Tupou. Suaalii started the move from his own half before putting Tupou through a gap in Penrith's defence but his pass to Tedesco was called forward by Klein much to the shock of Roosters players, commentators and fans.

Klein was just behind the play but the pass looked flat at best and the referee was in a good enough position to make a ruling on it. The contentious call took all the wind out of the visitor's sails after a comeback looked very much on up until that point, and Roosters coach Robinson echoed the thoughts of many viewers after the game by questioning how the pass was ruled forward.

Roosters coach and fans fuming over forward pass call

“I didn’t think it was forward. I don’t think anyone thought it was forward except the ref,” Robinson said. “Even looking at the replays and the angles of the pass, that’s a big call in that moment and you can’t get that wrong. I was disappointed in (the officiating)... that should have been a try and that would have made it 24-16 and then it starts to get close.”

“I didn’t think it was forward. We probably would have scored off the back of it and it would have been a different contest,” Roosters captain Tedesco said afterwards. “We haven’t had an 80-minute performance all year, especially against teams like Penrith and Melbourne. We can’t come out in a final and give them that much possession and that much ball because it’s hard to run down. We can do it in patches, but we’ve got to execute for 80 minutes.”

Nathan Cleary inspires first half masterclass from Penrith

As Tedesco alluded to, it was the first half where the Roosters lost the match and Cleary was at the heart of much of Penrith's attacking masterclass. Playing his first game in a month since returning from a shoulder injury, Cleary had two try assists and put on a kicking clinic to guide his side into the preliminary final and just one win away from another grand final appearance as they chase an astonishing fourth straight premiership.

One of Cleary's pin-point kicks hit the goalposts and presented the easiest of tries for Izack Tago and a towering bomb led to a Roosters error near their own tryline. Cleary kept the Roosters pinned in their own half for most of the opening forty as he and halves partner Jarome Luai forced a number of drop-outs. Luai's kicking game was also impressive and helped take some of the burden off Cleary, with the No.6 crossing for a smart try of his own after stepping back inside to dive over for the home side's third after just 17 minutes.

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Luke Garner made it four after just 22 minutes as the Panthers threatened a rout before Robinson's interchange forwards Spencer Leniu and Naufahu Whyte helped stem the bleeding and got the Roosters back in the contest. Garner also scored a second try in the final 10 minutes to ice the win for Penrith, who had the luxury of wrapping Cleary up in cotton wool by bringing the superstar No.7 off in the dying minutes.

"It's been a frustrating year. The times I have been injured I just feel bad that I'm not out there and going to battle alongside my brothers," Cleary said after the game. "It's almost embarrassing sometimes getting those injuries and having to take time out again. So it's been an up-and-down year, but I'd set sights on this game and just had to get over it.

"There was no point moping around, I had to be a positive influence on the team, even though I wasn't playing and then in the background working hard to put my best foot forward. I'm really happy with how tonight went but, obviously, there's more ahead of us, and I've got to keep working hard."