Nathan and Ivan Cleary were in attendance for Jett's sparkling first-grade debut. (Getty Images: Hannah Peters)
Jett Cleary has sparkled on first-grade debut as the New Zealand Warriors moved into pole position for the minor premiership with a 46-32 victory over Newcasatle.
Newcastle prop Jacob Saifiti was sent off for a nasty high shot on Luke Laulilii as Jett Cleary received some special attention in his maiden NRL appearance, but the 21-year-old halfback held his nerve with three try assists in the win.
His father and brother, Penrith coach Ivan and captain Nathan, were both smiling from ear to ear as Jett became the first of them to win their first-grade debuts.
The Warriors' win took them past the Panthers into top spot on the ladder heading into the final round of the season, albeit by just one point in for-and-against.
At Western Sydney Stadium, the Sharks had their hopes of a top-four finish extinguished by a shock 38-18 loss to the Eels.
Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said his team was clearly feeling the pressure ahead of the finals.
"There's a difference between playing not to lose and playing the way I know we can play," he said.
"I just think we're uptight … and we're playing teams with nothing to lose.
"We've got a lot on the line, we want to do well, we've been together a long time and it's actually getting to us.
"We're waiting for the semis, we're not playing what's in front of us."
In the NRLW, the Tigers secured a maiden finals appearance with a thumping 44-14 victory over the Bulldogs, while the Warriors suffered a shock 22-18 defeat to the Dragons, and the Broncos dominated the Eels 44-10.
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Another entertaining day of footy concludes with the top eight pretty well locked in.
