Nathan Cleary's man-of-the-match outing against Parramatta has put the NRL on notice with Eels coach Brad Arthur admitting the Penrith half kicked his team to death.
Cleary was the star in the Panthers' 27-8 qualifying-final win on Friday, going on a blitz during a 10-minute period in the second half as Penrith went from one point down to 17 points up.
The 24-year-old three times forced errors from former teammate Waqa Blake with his bombs, with two leading to tries and putting the Panthers on the front foot.
He also did it all on return from a five-week suspension, showing no signs of rust as he took full control of Penrith's attack and sent the Eels to another knockout semi-final.
"Nathan kicked us to death really," Arthur admitted.
Penrith, for now, are the least of Parramatta's concerns as the Eels try to avoid being knocked out in the second week of the finals for the fifth time in six years.
But, ultimately, any team who wants to win this competition knows Cleary is likely to be a problem for them.
The Panthers are straight through to the preliminary final, and look as dangerous as any defending premiers possibly could be at this time of the season.
Their only real concern is a hamstring injury to Taylan May, who also found himself on report for a high tackle on Will Penisini early in the match.
But otherwise, the Panthers will enter their preliminary final off the back of a fortnight's rest and, for most players, with just one game in the 28 days prior.
And beyond all else, they have the benefit of an in-form Cleary at halfback.
"He's your star player, your halfback. When he's out there you can feel the confidence grow," co-captain Isaah Yeo said.
"His kicking game was outstanding. He knew when to run.
"You could see it happening at training but then, obviously, to come out on the big stage, he was always going to have that pressure on him.
"But he was the best player on the park by a mile tonight."
Yeo's comments came as Nathan's father Ivan praised his son's control, with the No.7 also icing a field goal.
"He came up with the right kick at the right time most of the time," Ivan said.
"We had this very game last year up in the qualifying final in Townsville, where Blake Taaffe was playing fullback (for South Sydney).
"Nathan got him on the first one and then he probably did it too often. He didn't quite get the right field position that night.
"Whereas tonight pretty much every time he put one of those floaters up we got we got a result or close to it."
© AAP 2022
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