The Penrith Panthers are preparing to contest Nathan Cleary's careless high tackle charge at the NRL judiciary, aiming for his participation in the opening round.
Cleary received a grade two charge following his 38th-minute tackle on Wests Tigers winger Heamasi Makasini during the Panthers' 26-12 defeat at Leichhardt Oval on Friday night.
While Cleary has admitted guilt regarding the charge, the Panthers believe they possess enough evidence to pursue a downgrade to a grade one at the judiciary this coming Monday evening.
The implications of the decision are significant. A successful appeal would clear Cleary to compete against Brisbane in the highly anticipated round one match at Lang Park on March 6.
Conversely, a failed appeal would add a match to his two-game suspension, sidelining him for clashes with both Cronulla and the Sydney Roosters in rounds two and three.
The Panthers may emphasize that Makasini seemed to slip during the tackle and that Cleary did not leave the ground, which contributed to the sin-bin decision.
In a remarkable turnaround, the Panthers climbed from last place in round 13 of 2025, ultimately reaching the preliminary final against the eventual champions, the Broncos.
Despite a rocky start to the season, with seven losses in their first 11 matches, they narrowly qualified for the finals in seventh position due to a late surge of victories.
However, this challenging beginning left them strained, leading to a disappointing loss where they squandered a 14-0 lead against the Broncos, eventually falling 16-14.