"HE'LL be playing."
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It's the three words that from coach Ivan Cleary that Bathurst's Penrith Panthers fans wanted to hear - halfback Nathan Cleary will line up at Carrington Park on Saturday.
A groin niggle that the star playmaker carried into last Thursday's match against South Sydney had cast some doubt over whether or not he'd play in Bathurst.
Nathan Cleary handed over goal-kicking duties to Stephen Crichton in the loss to Souths and wore compression shorts - something he usually doesn't do.
But on Monday afternoon when coach Cleary was asked if his son would be fit to face Wests Tigers at Carrington Park, any doubts were dispelled.
"It's not too bad, he just got a bit of a twinge the day before [the game] so that's why he didn't kick. But he was able to kick in general play and run around okay, so he'll be right," Cleary said.
Having Nathan Cleary in jumper number seven is a positive for the defending premiers, who currently sit third on the NRL ladder with four wins and three loses.
It will mark the first time in two years Bathurst fans get to see the gun halfback in action.
Last March Cleary was named in the extended Panthers squad to face Newcastle in Bathurst, but did not play any part in the contest.
He had not fully recovered from shoulder surgery to repair a dislocation he suffered while representing NSW in the 2021 State of Origin series.
When asked what treatment the number seven would undergo this week in the build up to the Carrington Park clash, Ivan Cleary said: "I don't know, I'm not a physio".
"A bit of rest over the weekend helped, it was a pretty fresh injury, so he should be alright," the coach said.
"It's a bit of a kicking thing, sometimes you have like groins and quads and that, so I don't think it's much more than that.
"He'll be playing."
Playing in Bathurst is something that the Panthers have been doing annually since 2014, with the exception of 2020 during the COVID pandemic.
Last year 11,253 fans watched Penrith defeat Newcastle 38-20, a figure which ranks as a Carrington Park attendance record.
It's that sort of response from fans Ivan Cleary wants to see again this Saturday as his men look to climb the NRL ladder and keep the Tigers winless for another week.
"It's a yearly event, we enjoy going to Bathurst, we feel like it is a part of our community the Central West," Cleary said.
"I always enjoy the trip and getting amongst our little Panthers community out there, so looking forward to it once again.
"I think it's a really good thing for the NRL to do at any stage, go out to country venues.
"We've been supporting Bathurst for a long time and they support us. Just over each year you tend to see more Panthers jerseys in the crowd, so that's nice.
"Hopefully they will all be out there again on Saturday and we can put on a good performance."
Saturday's match at Carrington Park will kick-off at 7.35pm.
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