‘Starting to stamp his authority’: Nathan Cleary growing in confidence within the Australian side
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Cameron Munster has praised his halves partner Nathan Cleary for coming out of his shell during the Rugby League World Cup tour, with the duo now aiming to steer the Kangaroos to a third consecutive title against Samoa.
“At the start, he was sitting back a little bit and letting the other guys have a chat but now he’s starting to stamp his authority on the team a bit more,” Munster stated.
Cleary had to fight for his place in the side, as his battle with Daly Cherry-Evans for the starting position at halfback dominated the conversation around the Aussie camp during the group stages.
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The Penrith No.7 was rested for the opening game but quickly made up for lost time with an impressive performance against Scotland which solidified his spot in the 13.
However, Munster revealed Cleary was initially reluctant to speak up, but now that he has, he’s quickly established himself as a leading voice within the team.
“He’s definitely come out of his shell, he’s talking a bit more in meetings,” Munster said.
“He’s done a lot in the game for such a young age and everyone is listening to him.”
Since Mal Meninga made it clear Cleary would be his first-choice halfback for the business end of the tournament, questions have been raised about whether DCE could have provided more of an impact.
Yet Munster backed the 25-year-old, explaining how when playing with so many established stars it’s impossible to stand out all the time like he does in the NRL.
“When you’ve got the best of the best playing alongside you, at times blokes are going to outshine you and other time you’re going to have an okay game,” the Melbourne five-eighth said.
“When you look at the stats, he’s had a consistent three weeks. At Penrith, he’s the heart and soul of that team in terms of structure and organisation, so when he comes to big teams like us or even Origin, he obviously won’t shine as much as he’d like to.
“But that’s footy when you’re playing for Australia, there’s so many good players outside you and inside you. Anything can happen.”
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Cleary has been solid but unspectacular in the two knockout games against Lebanon and New Zealand and admitted he had struggled to adjust to the international arena.
“The last few games haven’t been my best, but I feel like I’ve been building,” he said.
“Coming into a new team, it’s pretty hard to gel straight away with new combinations. I think it’s been two games we’ve all played together, so it’s always going to be a difficult task.
“Every day I come and try and do my best to try and get the best out of myself. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn’t.
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“That’s just human nature – you can’t be perfect all the time. You’re not always going to have good days, you’re going to have bad days, it’s about trying to improve and get better.”