He just wants to make sure his men keep improving as they build towards the finals.

The Panthers finished in 10th position last year with 11 wins from 24 rounds, but with 19 rounds of the 2014 premiership completed they have already matched that record.

It is good enough to have them in second place on the ladder, two points behind the Manly Sea Eagles, and with seven games remaining they are every chance of bridging that gap if they can produce their best football.

However, Cleary has not put much emphasis on the minor premiership. 

“I haven’t thought about it too much. There is still a long way to go and without trying to sound cliched, we are still trying to find our own feet being a new team. I think in the starting team tomorrow there are only four or five guys who were in this side last year, so it shows how new we are,” he said.

“We are still trying to find our best combinations and our best team.”

But while the Panthers’ final position on the ladder is not Cleary’s immediate focus, he certainly wants to leave Bathurst with the competition points on offer.

That would mean beating a Sharks side who surprised them when coming from behind to win 24-20 in their only other meeting this year.

“It’s a very tight table; any win you can get is a tough one. Two points – it never comes easy, and that is what we are preparing for tomorrow,” he said after the Panthers’ training run at Carrington Park yesterday morning.

“They have had a couple of good wins recently, two good comeback wins against the Broncos and Roosters.

“They certainly play an attacking brand of football with a lot of offloads and have already beaten us once this year. 

“So we are certainly not underestimating them.”

As for playing in Bathurst, Cleary has already given his thumbs up to an initiative in which the Panthers will stage one of their home games at Carrington Park for the next five years.

“It sounds like there is going to be a good crowd here and there is definitely a good feel around the place,” he said.

“I think just the feel we’ve had since we’ve been here, everyone is really excited; it’s just a great thing to do. [In] A lot of the country areas rugby league is really strong and everyone loves it – I guess when the big show comes to town it is a good feel.

“It’s obvious a lot of work has gone into it [pitch] and without a doubt it’s NRL worthy, that’s for sure.”

Assistant coach David Fair-leigh also gave the Carrington Park surface the thumbs up and said the Panthers had enjoyed their Bathurst experience since arriving on Wednesday night.

“The people have been good and the ground is fine,” he said. “It might be a bit wet now, but if the wind comes up it will be dry in no time.”