Nathan Cleary might have missed the final five weeks of the regular season for a dangerous throw, but it has been revealed he didn't waste the time off the park.
Cleary, who has forged one of the most successful father-son partnerships with Ivan Cleary in the history of the game at the Panthers, has regularly been noted for his football IQ.
That IQ is said to have come to the fore during his time on the sidelines for a dangerous throw on Dylan Brown, which was a Grade 3 charge and left him with a five-week ban.
While he continued training during the suspension, lock forward Isaah Yeo told News Corp that Nathan has all the attributes of a good coach already.
“The way he sees the game is like a coach already,” Yeo told News Corp.
“He’s a halfback, so he sees the game well anyway but it’s the confidence in his opinion that was the biggest thing while he was out.
“The way he has grown as a player as he has gotten older and more mature as well, he is a lot more comfortable in his own skin and the way he can project his opinion and back it up as well.
“They are all attributes a good coach would have, he has them already.”
Cleary's return to the park in the opening week of the finals saw a dominant performance as the Panthers dispatched the Parramatta Eels and moved to within 80 minutes of their third grand final on the hop.
They will play the South Sydney Rabbitohs in a preliminary final on Saturday evening for the right to play in the following Sunday's decider.
The Panthers were given the weekend off ahead of the game, but return to training on Monday.
