Awful scenes as NRL star suffers horrific ankle break that brings his mum to tears
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Horrific.
Penrith Panthers star Nathan Cleary suffered a compound fracture of his left ankle during Sunday’s NRL preliminary final against Newcastle Knights, in an incident that reportedly left his mother Rebecca in tears in the stands.
Cleary was injured shortly before half-time as he attacked the Newcastle try-line. Knights hooker Phoenix Crossland brought him down in a hip-drop tackle, and players immediately called for medical attention.
“What an awful moment in this match, in this season,” Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss said as Cleary received treatment.
“The stadium is silenced by that.”
Horrid for Nathan Cleary – taken off on a medicab after suffering a traumatic ankle injury (opposite leg to his previous foot bone stress injury)
Hip drop tackle mechanism – tacklers weight comes down on outside of lower leg trapping foot & turns it sideways.
Report from… pic.twitter.com/oN4M4fbwUm
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) September 27, 2026
Cleary was stretchered from the field and taken to hospital. Crossland was sent off for the tackle, leaving Newcastle with 12 players for the rest of the match.
Referee Gerard Sutton told Crossland:
“He makes a definite action so (he) twists, comes down on the leg with weight. It’s an extreme risk of serious injury. You’re off.”
Newcastle went on to win 22-14 and book their place in the Grand Final, ending Penrith’s season.
Cleary. Oh dear. #NRLFinals pic.twitter.com/bLvXha8R71
— Tyson Whelan (@tyson_whelan) September 27, 2026
