Penrith coach Ivan Cleary believes the season-ending knee injury to Peter Wallace has spurred his halves partner Jamie Soward onto the NRL heights he has scaled his season.
Soward slotted a sideline conversion and a last-gasp field goal to put the Panthers through in Saturday’s preliminary final against Canterbury, in their dramatic upset 19-18 win over the Sydney Roosters two weeks ago.
It was another magic moment for Soward in a season crammed full of them, as the form of the oft-maligned playmaker has become better and better as the year has gone on.
Soward has previously said the ACL injury suffered by Wallace in the loss to Cronulla at Bathurst in late July had inspired him to put aside his own worries.
And in speaking on 2KY’s Big Sports Breakfast on Wednesday, Cleary said Soward, a 2010 premiership winner with St George Illawarra, had stepped up a gear since Wallace’s 2014 season had come to an end.
“He’s been there and done that – he just needs an opportunity to feel as though he’s part of something and our club really embraced him and he embraced the club,” Cleary said.
“I think it was a really key moment when unfortunately Pete Wallace went down injured and Jamie was thrown in the deep end a bit there.
“He’s just shown his qualities over the past four, five years with what he’s been able to produce.
“I reckon anyone who knows Jamie would just be so happy for him, and I’m certainly one of those.
“He’s certainly had his fair share of critics over the years (but) from our point of view, we look back at his career which I guess really spiked at his time at the Dragons under Wayne Bennett when they won the premiership.”
Cleary’s surprise packet Panthers will go in as underdogs against Des Hasler’s Canterbury despite beating them twice this year.
Cleary, who guided the Warriors to the 2011 decider, says hard-hitting back-rower Adam Docker’s return from suspension is crucial for the Panthers.
“Adam definitely provides us with a bit of a point of difference,” Cleary said.
“He’s got a bit more leg speed than some of our other forwards and he just wants to hit people.
“He’s really old school in that sense. He definitely can provide a spark, here or there.”
