The Penrith Panthers are set to challenge Nathan Cleary's careless high tackle charge at the judiciary, aiming for a downgrade to allow their star playmaker to participate in the first round.
Cleary received a grade two charge for a tackle on Wests Tigers winger Heamasi Makasini during the 38th minute of their match at Leichhardt Oval, which ended in a 26-12 defeat for the Panthers.
While the talented halfback has admitted guilt regarding the charge, the Panthers believe they possess enough evidence to argue for a reduction to a grade one when they appear at the judiciary on Monday evening.
The implications of this decision are significant. A successful appeal would permit Cleary to take part in the highly anticipated clash against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on March 6.
Conversely, a failure in their appeal would extend his suspension to three games, forcing him to miss matches against Cronulla in Bathurst and the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium in rounds two and three.
AAP reports that the Panthers noted Makasini seemed to slip slightly during the tackle, and that Cleary did not leave the ground when making his move, a key point that contributed to his sin-binning.
The Panthers managed to recover from a challenging position in round 13 of 2025, ultimately making their way to the preliminary final against the Broncos, who were the eventual champions.
Despite a rough start, where they lost seven of their first eleven matches, they reached the finals in seventh place, but ultimately fell short after giving up a 14-0 lead to lose 16-14 against the Broncos.