Lang on League: Why I was wrong about Casey

The Panthers had just held on to register a gripping 8-6 win over the then table-topping Bulldogs team when co-captain Nathan Cleary made a bee-line straight towards one player, 19-year-old Casey McLean.

The TV cameras captured the moment when Cleary wrapped his arms around the youngster’s shoulders and shouted some words of praise to McLean, who just had the game of his life.

Cleary pretty much revealed as much when asked about it in the post-match media conference.

“I thought Casey was outstanding tonight against a world-class player,” said Cleary.

“I was super proud of him.”

And so were we all.

Casey McLean and Nathan Cleary. Photo: NRL Photos.

Against arguably the best centre in the world in Stephen Crichton, McLean more than held his own. He made 15 runs, four tackle breaks and ran for 133 metres.

The softly spoken teenager from Blacktown was so fired up that night that he even dared to ‘chirp’ at Crichton in an attempt to put the Bulldogs captain off his game.

In fact he let him know on more than one occasion that he wasn’t going to best him, not this week anyway.

On that night, in his 19th first grade game, Casey McLean finally announced to the rugby league world that he had arrived.

His popularity with Penrith supporters went through the roof that night on social media. Posts praising the kid garnered thousands of ‘likes’ and the comments were flattering to say the least.

However, this wasn’t always the case.

Only a few months earlier, McLean was bashed from pillar to post for not passing to an unmarked Thomas Jenkins in a game against the Cowboys in round five.

Casey McLean. Photo: NRL Photos.

And I admit, I was one of them. When he did something similar a few games later the calls for dropping him became louder. He had gone from Wonder Boy to

‘Wonder why he’s still in first grade’.

I won’t speak for anyone else but personally, I was a bloody idiot for thinking McLean should have been dropped. I owe the kid an apology.

McLean admitted in an interview with the Western Weekender only a few weeks ago that he was working on his passing and overall game. He knew what he needed to do to get better and he did it.

One must remember how meteoric his rise has been over the last 18 months.

The coaching staff at Panthers knew they had something special when at 18 years-of age, they made him play a NSW Cup trial game against the Roosters in oppressive conditions at the start of 2024.

McLean then played the first two games of the season in Jersey Flegg before being fast-tracked into NSW Cup for a few months.

Casey McLean scores against the Storm. Photo: NRL Photos.

He made his first-grade debut in round 17 against the Cowboys then for good measure, scored four tries for the New Zealand Kiwis in his International debut match.

We all forget sometimes that he’s still only 19 years-of-age.

I’ve heard that the Panthers coaching staff believe in terms of his physical development and rugby league skills, that he is already tracking ahead of where

Stephen Crichton was at the same age.

Now he’s going to have some tough games, games where he does make mistakes or doesn’t always pass the ball to an unmarked player.

But I for one am not going to criticise or doubt this future champion again.

I’m also looking forward to the Panthers taking on the Bulldogs again in round 26.

McLean vs Crichton again.

I can’t wait.

Peter Lang

Peter Lang is an experienced sports writer, who has been covering rugby league for several decades. He first wrote Lang on League for the Weekender in the 1990s, and worked for Panthers on its famous Panthers Magazine for several years.

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