"We're hopeful": Panthers expecting Cleary return for Week 1 finals showdown

Penrith Panthers head coach Ivan Cleary has confirmed Nathan Cleary is 'hopeful' of returning for Week 1 of the finals as the club prepares for a showdown with the injury-ravaged Sydney Roosters.

The Panthers were well short of their best on Saturday evening in a win over the Gold Coast Titans, but have locked up second spot on the table and will host a qualifying final next weekend.

That will likely come against the Roosters, who will finish in third spot unless the Cronulla Sharks can beat the Manly Sea Eagles by at least 73 points on Sunday afternoon during the final day of the season.

Speaking post-game, coach Cleary said his son still has a few hoops to jump through, but privately, Penrith officials are understood to have told News Corp that their champion halfback will be back on deck for the contest, although the coach wants more out of his team as a collective.

“He's got a few hoops to jump through, but we're hopeful,” Ivan said of his son during the post-match press conference.

“(The attack) is his job but we've never put it all on one player in our team.

“We have a system… and there's a few players tonight who need to do their job better and if we get everyone doing their job, we're a chance.

“(The Roosters) have been really good all the way through the year, obviously they have a blue ribbon roster and they've got a couple of players missing but there are plenty of good players in that squad.

“Our defence has really improved in the past month or so but our attack tonight didn't complement it so if we can get both together we're going to be hard to beat.”

Given Penrith have a guaranteed second chance during the finals, Cleary being anything less than 100 per cent could see him rested from the opening week of the finals against a Roosters side who will be without Brandon Smith, Victor Radley and Sam Walker among potentially a longer list of players.