New South Wales endured a nightmare night in Perth during Game II as the pre-match favourites were stunned by Queensland.
Nathan Cleary was tipped to guide the Blues to a series-clinching victory, yet the halfback wasn’t up to his usual standards as he was hampered by a groin injury throughout the contest.
The No.7 sustained the issue while goal-kicking at the captain’s run.
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Cleary emerged at Optus Stadium with his right thigh bandaged.
He allowed Jarome Luai and Latrell Mitchell to take on the bulk of the kicking duties in the first half, while he handed the tee over to Zac Lomax for the entire contest.
"I always thought it would be fine, it was just sort of the kicking load which was up in the air," Cleary revealed post-match.
"I don’t actually know the exact thing (injury) but I essentially did it goal-kicking. It’s a little bit frustrating."
Cleary wasn’t required to back up for Penrith after Ivan Cleary opted to rest all of his representative stars in Round 16.
The coach did this as he noted how the journey from Perth all the way to New Zealand would be asking too much of his players.
Yet the decision is sure to place more pressure on the Panthers who have endured a wretched premiership defence so far this year.
Ivan Cleary has since revealed that the halfback could line up against Canterbury in a blockbuster clash next Thursday night.
"Nathan had that little groin injury," the coach said in Auckland.
"I’m not too sure how he’s going at the moment, but I don’t think it’s too serious."
Ivan Cleary has expressed his frustration at the club’s schedule earlier this week when he refused to name his Origin stars in his lineup.
And the four-time premiership-winning mentor once again hit out at the draw which had forced him to field a makeshift side in NZ.
"It’s disappointing for the New Zealand fans because we haven’t played here for six years, so they haven’t seen any of our team through that pretty good period," Cleary said.
"That’s a little unfortunate, but I know it must be difficult trying to work out the draw, and everyone has their hard-luck stories."