 Cleal suffered a severe Broken Jaw on 8 July 2007 in a tackle with Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Prop Ben Ross which ended his 2007 season.In the 2008 NRL season, Cleal only played four games for Canterbury as the club finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon.He was to play with South Sydney for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.