Nathan Cleary’s Instagram postCredit: Instagram
“I did see Nathan’s comments, and if there’s a way we can make this work, we’d love to play at Magic Round.
“I went to that weekend a few years ago, it was a wonderful festival.
“It will be a logistical challenge, but I’ve always said playing rugby league is a privilege, you only get to play for a short amount of time, and if you were to ask any player if they would want to be a part of that, I’m sure they’d all say ‘yes’.
“If you asked any retired player, ‘Would you turn down a game like that?’ they’d all tell you ‘not a chance’. This is why you play the game.
“It wouldn’t be ideal for us, but you have to make choices. We played Penrith at the start of this year, and that meant we had to postpone a Super League game, and later in the season we played three games in nine days. But we got it done. The bigger picture means you’re a world champion.
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“There’s never an ideal time for this game. But we need to flesh out all options before we rule it out.
“It would also help get rid of any talk the game is a pre-season warm-up event – it would be great to play the game in the middle of the season when both teams are firing.”
ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys said of the chances of Wigan and the Panthers meeting in Brisbane: “I like innovation and anything that comes out of left field. I’m very impressed Nathan Cleary has thought of this. If it can happen, it will happen. There’s a bit of logistical work to be done, and a bit of planning to do, but we’ll investigate it.”
Having a ninth game at Magic Round would mean introducing a Thursday night game. Penrith would likely have to use the game as a bye round. The 2025 schedule is yet to be locked in by the NRL.
