Penrith Panthers player Nathan Cleary has been in the headlines after breaking social distancing rules on Anzac Day.

Panthers coach and Cleary’s father Ivan Cleary told Mark Levy he knew coaching his son would bring challenges, but would never have predicted this.

“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while.

“We always kind of knew that things would happen that you just couldn’t script but there was going to be some challenging times.

“I probably didn’t think it was going to be so much like this, but he’s still only 22 and as much as we want everyone to mature and grow up, unfortunately, you can’t speed up time.

“I think one way of growing up is to make mistakes. He’s made a big one, paying a pretty heavy price and going through a bit of pain.

“I think he’s definitely going to come out better for it.”

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Image: Penrith Panthers/Official website