NRL Pacific Championship 2023: Nathan Cleary Ruled Out For Australia Kangaroos

With one Panthers star out for the Pacific Championship, Australia has taken a major hit, but one Sharks player has been called up to play for the Kangaroos.

Due to a knee injury, Nathan Cleary, the winner of the Penrith championship, will not be competing in the Pacific Championship.

Despite the fact that Manly's Daly Cherry-Evans will go right into the halfback post, this is a devastating setback for Australia.

Following the news that Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary would be unable to participate in the Pacific tournament due to a knee injury, Cronulla star Nicho Hynes was added to the Australian side for the competition.

Although Hynes was a member of the train-on squad and participated in the most recent match between the Prime Minister's XIII and the Prime Minister's XVIII, he was not selected for the final 21-man roster for the international tournament that included Samoa and New Zealand.

Cleary's posterior cruciate ligament injury, sustained in the club's grand final victory against Brisbane, gave Hynes a respite.

Hynes expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to work with top talent. "I'm grateful to have this chance to be around the best of the best," he remarked. "It's the perfect way to end the year, and it's something I've always wanted to do."

To be here today, after announcing on Instagram yesterday that his season was over, was "the best way to end the year," Hynes remarked.

I never thought I'd see the day.

I'd want to get in on the action, but even just being there will be incredible.

"Being back around Chez (Daly Cherry-Evans), Cam (Munster), and Harry (Grant) will only make me a better player," said Grant. "I had the best experience with Chez (Daly Cherry-Evans) in the Prime Minister's game."

Hynes claimed he initially missed Mal Meninga's call while on vacation at Noosa with Sharks teammate Kade Dykes.

Hynes explained that he had been hanging out by the pool with Dykesy but had forgotten his phone at home.

"Our chairman (Steve Mace) had stopped in to say hi, and he was talking to Fitzy (Craig Fitzgibbon) when Fitzy said, put Nicho on, he's not answering his phone.

I spoke to Mal after Fitzy told me the good news. Absolutely fantastic.

Ben Hunt, of St. George Illawarra, can also play dummy half.

In a game when he inspired the Panthers to victory, the halfback is thought to have twisted his knee under a hip drop tackle.

In the first half of Sunday's thrilling championship game, Cleary's leg got hooked beneath the weight of Brisbane's Payne Haas.

Cleary captained Penrith's to a surprising championship victory despite his injuries.

The NRL match review committee found against Haas and handed out a $1,000 punishment.

Even if it's not likely, Bradman Best of Newcastle will also be examined, as will Reece Walsh of Brisbane.

Clint Gutherson of the Parramatta has hurt his knee.

The Kangaroos' next two games are against Samoa in Townsville on October 14 and New Zealand in Melbourne two weeks later.

The championship game will be contested in Hamilton, New Zealand, the following week.

In the midst of the festivities, Cleary managed to get a scan.

CRICHTON COMMITS TO SAMOA, SUAALII RULED OUT

Now that Stephen Crichton has committed his international career to Samoa, the Australian Kangaroos have lost a three-time premiership winner and a major loss for the Penrith Panthers.

Concussion-related difficulties have sidelined Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, a star player for the Sydney Roosters, according to new Samoan coach Ben Gardiner.

Star center Crichton, who had just come to the attention of Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga, was reportedly on the fence about making a commitment to the team until after the grand final.

Gardiner, an assistant coach for Penrith, made the claim on Tuesday afternoon that Crichton had made a significant choice.

I can confirm that Stephen is of Samoan descent. Both of his parents have Samoan ancestry. He's a player who will play for Samoa and Samoa only," Gardner said.

He told me, 'I'm Samoan and I play for Samoa, let's not even go into that conversation,' so there was never any doubt in my mind that he was going to play for Australia.

That he is so eager to stand up for his roots, his people, and his nation is awesome. He's a very dependable fellow.

Including Crichton, three other Penrith players—winger Brian To'o, forward Spencer Leniu, and center Izack Tago—were called up to represent Samoa in the upcoming World Cup.

Jarome Luai, a star five-eighth, will miss the Pacific Championships to have surgery on his dislocated shoulder. Incredibly, Luai was only able to play for 52 minutes of Penrith's historic grand final win against Brisbane on Sunday night, despite making a spectacular turnaround from the unfortunate injury after only a month on the sidelines.

While Samoa will be without Luai on the field for their October 14 opening against Australia in Townsville, coach Gardner is hopeful that the 26-year-old will be able to join the team in camp.

After having a conversation with Jarome the day before, I know that he is really upset that he cannot be a part of the squad. Gardner stated that "he will be coming along for the ride" and that "he will be a close part of what we do."

We are making preparations to have him there (in Townsville), as he is the minister for energy, and we want to ensure that he will be able to attend.

Suaalii was sidelined with a concussion and did not play in the Roosters' semi-final loss to the Melbourne team. This was his second head knock in three months; he had also had a head injury while training in the middle of the regular season.

He can't meet with you right now. Roosters and I had a talk a few weeks ago... This is standard procedure for head injuries. "I don't want to get into the details because I don't have access to them," Gardner said.

However, due to concussion regulations, he will miss the Tests matches towards the end of the year.

To prepare for the star fullback's return to the NRL and the New Zealand Warriors, Gardiner also plans to contact him, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

Gardiner has stated, "I will be contacting him over the next couple of weeks, we will obviously go to New Zealand."

"Roger needs to decide for himself what he wants to do. Everyone is aware of what an exceptional player... Maybe he'll give it some thought.

I hope to foster a community where Samoan players seek out other Samoan players to socialise with and compete against.

I believe that Roger will receive some behind-the-scenes help from the team.