NRL won the ratings last night as Melbourne Storm took on Penrith Panthers in a clash that many speculate may have been an early trial for the Grand Final.
The battle of the top two saw the teams go head to head, with neither holding a dominant lead over the other for the entire match. With ten minutes to go, it was all tied up, but a shoulder injury for superstar Nathan Cleary saw the game take a turn, and an opportune penalty got Melbourne over the line, winning 24-22.
@nrlphysio Nathan Cleary off with a left shoulder injury. Not much force in the mechanism – landing on outstretched arm brings concern for instability/subluxation, had same injury to right shoulder in 2021. Even if confirmed not auto season over. Best case hope is nerve burner type injury. #nrl #nathancleary ♬ original sound – NRL Physio
Cleary was reportedly taken from the stadium in an ambulance to undergo testing for an injury to his left shoulder. “He’s obviously shoulder injuries. He hurt it in the pre-season and had some trouble with it earlier in the year,” Panthers coach and Cleary’s father, Ivan Cleary, told reporters post-match. “I’m concerned. It was bad enough for him to come off. We are organising scans for tomorrow”.
“He’s in better shape than he was when he did his hammy. Hopefully, that’s good news, but what do you do?”.
The injury is likely to keep the playmaker out for at least next week if not longer, putting the Panthers’ shot at a fourth consecutive premiership win into question.
With so much unclear for the Penrith half, one thing that is clear is that the action did not disappoint. The footy was the top-rated non-news program of the night, with a total TV national reach of 1,681,000 for the Nine Network.
Over on Ten, Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly did the numbers, achieving a total TV national reach of 987,000 as Graeme Hall attempted to help a Hellraiser Pomeranian Hero and four pugs suffering from a serious case of FOMO.
