Penrith Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary has taken an early guilty plea for a grade three dangerous throw charge and will miss five NRL games after an illegal tackle saw him sent from the field during Friday night’s loss to Parramatta Eels.
Cleary will now miss the remainder of the NRL regular season although he will return for week one of the NRL finals series.
Cleary took to social media over the weekend to apologise for his actions on the field.
“Massive apologies for tonight,” Cleary said.
“Filthy at myself for such a dumb moment that let the boys (and) the fans down.
“I’m not about that, it was terrible technique (and) I need to be better.”
Adding to the Panthers’ woes, Cleary joins halves partner Jarome Luai on the sidelines after he suffered a high grade MCL injury in Round 19, ruling the five-eighth out for “the best part of six weeks” according to physiotherapist Pete Green.
