Grant plays as Cleary's voice for Penrith

Friday, 26 April 2019:

NATHAN CLEARY of the Panthers kicks during the NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the Canterbury Bulldogs at Pepper Stadium Sydney, Australia.
NATHAN CLEARY of the Panthers kicks during the NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the Canterbury Bulldogs at Pepper Stadium Sydney, Australia.


Nathan Cleary maybe the coach's son but prop Tim Grant can lay claim to being the Penrith mentor Ivan's voice on the NRL field.

Grant will on Friday night run out against his former club South Sydney in just his second game back in the top grade, resuming his on-field relationship with Ivan Cleary.

The former NSW State of Origin prop first fell under the tutelage of Cleary in 2012, when the young coach left the Warriors for Penrith.

Told to look elsewhere by Penrith mid-contract 2014, he headed to Souths but eventually landed at the Wests Tigers in 2016 before Cleary joined him there the following year.

By midway through last year he was again signed to return to the Panthers, only for Cleary to return to the foot of the mountains over the summer.

"We have been at a few clubs together and I can feel how he wants to play or what we wants us to do before he says it," Grant said.

"I've been a voice for him out on the field, I know what he values and the way he goes about things.

"It's been pretty seamless for me. We don't really sit down and have a chat. I just think about what I can do for the team and what he values in my game."

Grant's elevation to start for Penrith against Cronulla last week marked his first NRL game since last June when he was dropped by Cleary at the Tigers, and only his sixth in two years.

"I haven't really thought about being patient or anything like that," Grant said.

"I've just been thinking about what I can do for this club, even if it's playing reserve grade or just being a mentor for the younger guys.

"I did come back here to play NRL for Penrith and I got to do that and it was exciting for myself and the family."






AAP






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