Nathan Cleary on how Penrith Panthers won the miracle final [Video]

To Nathan Cleary, the play that capped the greatest grand final miracle in NRL history never should have happened. If he had his way, he would have got the ball a tackle earlier, when he really wanted it.

“I wanted it on that play [before], but then didn’t get it,” Cleary says. “I thought, ‘Oh, stuff it, just give it to me on the next play and I’ll see what will happen’.”

What happened is that Cleary, with an injured knee, stepped off his left foot, beat the flailing tackle attempts of Brisbane’s Adam Reynolds, Billy Walters and Jordan Riki, rushed past Broncos wonder boy Reece Walsh, who had clocked off for a second, and scored a try that will replayed for generations.

From 16 points behind with 17 minutes left, the Panthers had suddenly won their third successive title.

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