Parker: Why Nathan Cleary is the best halfback in NRL history

NRL great Corey Parker believes Nathan Cleary is the best halfback the NRL has ever seen as the Panthers' star gears up for another run at the premiership.

Since debuting in 2016, Cleary has amassed a resume only paralleled by some of the NRL’s all-time greats across his 194 games.

Cleary has led the Panthers to four consecutive premierships, has been Dally M halfback of the year on three occasions, and is a dual-Clive Churchill medalist.

These numbers are on par with other modern greats at the end of their careers, including Andrew Johns, Cooper Cronk, and Jonathan Thurston, at only 28 years old, Parker believes Cleary could go on to surpass them by a mile.

“I don't think I've seen a better player consistently over the last 10 years than Nathan Cleary,” Parker said on SENQ Breakfast.

“I may have a little infatuation with Nathan Cleary. I think he is the best halfback the game has seen.

“People make a call on Nathan Cleary. He has won four competitions… four in a row, played in five grand finals in a row.

“He's won two Clive Churchills. He has picked them off the canvas single-handedly in the last 20 minutes against the Broncos of 2023, won the game.

“He's still only 26 years of age. When we talk about Johnathan Thurston, we talk about Cooper Cronks, we talk about Joey's (Andrew Johns), that's at the end of their career.

“There was a peak… has Nathan peaked? I would pose a fair argument to say that Nathan has still got another eight to ten years left in him.

“What's his resume going to say at the end of that? (He’s an) incredible player.

“His poise, his calmness, his vision of the game, his understanding of what's going on around him, his understanding of what needs to happen at this point right now, his skill set is incredible.

“If you watch him and, and how he mesmerizes defenses sometimes with ball in hand, when he drifts across field, he understands the intricacies of what a defender's going to do if I do this with the ball, and off the back of that, I will produce a try or a set up a try.

“He is top echelon.”

Cleary’s Panthers will begin their 2026 campaign against the reigning premiers Brisbane Broncos on March 6 at Suncorp Stadium.