Penrith Panthers’ superstar halfback Nathan Cleary has urged the NRL to address a scheduling issue that he believes unfairly disadvantaged his team following State of Origin Game 2 in Perth on June 26, 2025. As reported by *Yahoo Sports Australia* on July 4, 2025, Cleary described the situation as one that “should never have been allowed to happen,” after the Panthers were forced to rest their entire Origin contingent—Cleary, Dylan Edwards, Brian To’o, Isaah Yeo, and Liam Martin—for their round 16 match against the Warriors in Auckland, just 67 hours after the Perth game. The grueling 5,300km trip from Perth to Auckland, coupled with a six-hour flight and a five-day turnaround before facing Canterbury, made it impractical to field the Origin stars, per *Yahoo Sports Australia*.
Cleary, speaking post-match, called for a review of scheduling around Origin periods, particularly for teams with long travel demands like North Queensland, the Warriors, and the new Perth-based team. “Teams like Townsville, Perth, New Zealand shouldn’t be playing short turnarounds after Origin,” he said, highlighting the seven-and-a-half-hour flight from Auckland to Perth as particularly taxing, per *Yahoo Sports Australia*. He suggested the NRL consider suspending the competition during Origin weeks or adjusting rules, such as allowing 18th men (like Reece Walsh and Jacob Kiraz, ruled out after Origin duties) to play club matches, a proposal NRL CEO Andrew Abdo is open to discussing, per *Yahoo Sports Australia*.[]
The Panthers’ 14-6 loss to the Warriors underscored the impact, with Cleary noting the team’s lack of cohesion without key players, a sentiment echoed by coach Ivan Cleary, who described the season as “uncharted waters” after a fifth straight loss, per *The Guardian*. Johns, in *The Age*, noted that Penrith’s injury crisis (Metcalf and Barnett sidelined) and tough remaining schedule against Melbourne, Canberra, and Canterbury make a 2025 premiership unlikely, while Brisbane’s favorable run keeps them in contention. Cleary’s push for change aims to prevent such scheduling disadvantages, ensuring fairness for teams with heavy Origin representation.
