Nathan Cleary in fresh development after telling Ben Hornby ...

NRL fans can't believe the Panthers have announced Nathan Cleary will not play against the Rabbitohs on Thursday night, while interim South Sydney coach Ben Hornby has made swift changes to his side after only 24 hours in charge. Cleary played for the first time since round three, after suffering a hamstring injury, when his side defeated the Cowboys in North Queensland last week.

Cleary appeared to pull up fine after a tough-fought 26-20 win. Although coach Ivan Cleary has opted for Brad Schneider to lead his team at No.7 against the bottom-placed Rabbitohs and not to risk Cleary. The five-day turnaround appears to have impacted the New South Wales halfback and the Panthers are looking ahead and not wanting to overload Cleary too early upon return.

Nathan Cleary (pictured left) will not play against the Rabbitohs on Thursday night, while interim South Sydney coach Ben Hornby has made swift changes to his side. (Getty Images)

Cleary would also have one-eye on State of Origin coming up. The halfback missed two games last year of the series because of a similar hamstring injury and he would not want a repeat of this scenario. Penrith will be confident in Schneider coming in as a capable deputy, which will see Jack Cole come off the bench.

Jarome Luai will leave the club next year - heading to the Tigers on a whopping deal - which will leave the five-eighth role available for someone to make it their won. Cole is viewed as the future No.6 for the Panthers, but he has only played one NRL match up until round nine. While Penrith will be confident heading to Stadium Australia to face the Rabbitohs, new interim South Sydney coach Hornby has immediately made changes to the struggling outfit.

Nathan Cleary has been ruled out for the Panthers tomorrow night - official line is the club are being cautious with him having just returned from a hamstring injury + short turnaround + travel to Townsville.

History of hamstring injuries + recent rehab took longer than expected

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) May 1, 2024

The Rabbitohs have come under more criticism since the sacking of Jason Demetriou, only leaving new coach Hornby 48 hours to ready the team for the showdown against the reigning premiers. But he has made a number of changes to the last-placed outfit. Jacob Gagai is out with Isaiah Tass taking his spot on the wing.

And one of the biggest moves is Michael Chee Kam moving into the centres. He will face a tough task in holding off the backline of Izaak Tago and Taylan May on Thursday night. Jai Arrow will move to prop, which will allow Keaon Koloamatangi to move back into the second row. Sean Keppie coming onto the bench.

While the Rabbitohs have been thoroughly underwhelming this year in the NRL, fans have also pointed out they have endured one of the hardest runs to start 2024. The Rabbitohs lost their opening game to Manly, before losing to last year's finalists the Broncos.

Ben Hornby (pictured right) will take over the South Sydney Rabbitohs. (Matt King via Getty Images)

A loss to the Roosters followed, before they got their first win against the Bulldogs in round four. They then went on another three-game losing streak having been trounced by the Warriors, a tough-fought loss to the Sharks and then finally a humiliating loss to the Storm. And to make matters worse for the struggling club, Hornby will face the reigning champions this week with just 48 hours to prepare for the game after Demetriou's sacking.

Latrell Mitchell will be set to return back into the starting line-up next week when he returns from suspension. What position he comes back into is the major question with many Rabbitohs fans calling for the star to come back in at centre. This would allow 20-year-old sensation Jye Gray to retain his fullback position, which he has made his own across the last two weeks.