Former NRL premiership-winner Bryan Fletcher has defended Nathan Cleary’s displays in the Ashes series, amid growing calls for the Kangaroos halfback to be replaced by Mitchell Moses. The Panthers superstar played in all three of Australia’s Test matches in England, as Kevin Walters’ men completed a series clean sweep.
But Cleary had a relatively quiet series by his lofty standards as the Aussies failed to really fire in England. The Kangaroos’ attack looked disjointed and their completion rates across the three Tests were not at the level Walters would have expected, even if the coach was thrilled with the 3-0 series win.Harry Grant was man of the match in the third Test, while Reece Walsh and Cameron Munster were the standout performers in the opening two Tests. Munster was also named player of the series and overshadowed his halves partner throughout the series as Cleary took more of a back seat in England and allowed his Kangaroos teammates to shine.Fans are used to seeing Cleary dominate at club level for Penrith, where he’s won four premierships to cement his status as the best halfback in the game. But the superstar No.7 has admitted he’s struggled at times at Origin level for NSW and Cleary’s latest showing in the rep arena prompted fresh scrutiny.
But Fletcher reckons the criticism around the Kangaroos No.7 has been unfair, and believes Cleary performed his role well in England. The NRL great says while Cleary is the dominant player at the Panthers, he understands that the Kangaroos have plenty more firepower in the likes of Munster, Walsh and Grant, and played to their strengths in England
