Cleary stands by tough calls at Panthers
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Penrith coach Ivan Cleary insists he’ll continue to make the tough calls at the Panthers but doesn’t foresee the need to drop another bombshell like last week’s parting of the ways with club legend Luke Lewis.
Cleary says the controversial stands he’s made in his first season at the foot of the mountains have been necessary in building a foundation for the battling NRL club.
More changes will occur before next year rolls around, but Cleary believes the earth-shattering news has subsided for now.
Decisions to dump NSW Origin star Michael Jennings to reserve grade and to strip Lewis of the captaincy before ultimately releasing him have rocked the Panthers to the core.
But Cleary makes no apologies and believes the playing group are supportive of his vision for the future.
“You can’t be in this business and not make tough decisions. They’re always there to be made. You either make them or you don’t,” Cleary said on Tuesday.
“I think you have to make them if you want to get where you want to.
“I don’t think you’ll get another one like Luke … that’s a big one. I certainly don’t think there’s going to be anything like that again.
“We’ve obviously made some progress in some areas but in others we need to get a lot better … our lower grades and young teams have all done well this year and that’s great to see and that’s certainly part of the plan for the future. It’s disappointing the way the NRL team has gone in terms of results but we’ve got quite a lot of games to go.”
Cleary said everyone at the club needed to improve, including himself.
Asked if he was experiencing his most stressful year as a coach, the former Warriors mentor said he knew he was putting his hand up for a tough gig at Penrith and is embracing the challenge ahead.
“It was part of the attraction for sure. I’m really proud of where the Warriors are at the moment … Hopefully we can get this club in a great position in a few years down the track,” he said.
“You’ve got to start somewhere and I feel honoured to be in this position and to have this opportunity and looking forward to happier days down the track.”
Cleary said he’s yet to make a decision on who will captain the club long term, after interim leader Kevin Kingston indicated he would be happy to relinquish the role to someone else.
Meanwhile, injured back Michael Gordon won’t return from his broken leg this week against the Sydney Roosters.
© AAP 2013
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The Crowd Says (13) | Page 1 of Comments
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- Ivan Cleary, NRL, Penrith Panthers, Rugby League
July 18th 2012 @ 7:38am
steve b said | July 18th 2012 @ 7:38am | Report comment
Its a funny thing rugby league ,,they have lost Lewis and it looks like Jennings is not happy and is looking for greener pasture,yet Cleary says we are happy the way things are progressing ,,,ah what …They are a couple of points of the bottom and losing men all over the place and the top Panthers are saying its all going to plan,,,theirs a plan ,,what plan its a bloody nightmare for Panthers fans its all going down hill ..Yet up the road a bit you have the other,, we have a plan… and were not happy and we hate our coach but are told to shut up and don’t you dare say anything or we’ll piss you of to another club ..we are rebuilding ok ..Where else could you get a job that rewards stupidity ,,,no ware,,, other than Penrith and Parra leagues clubs ,,, two clubs thatt have a huge jnr league and absolute no idea how to use them to their advantage .. Their both a bloody big non event and paying BOZO’S big money to come in and fix their Fups,,, their both on the bottom of the ladder,,, and their execs tell us don’t worry we have a plan ..the jokes of the league …
July 18th 2012 @ 11:35am
mushi said | July 18th 2012 @ 11:35am | Report comment
But Steve, the alternative is to continue with the current plan which delivers the grand result of a rubbish team with no cap room in sight?
Hard to judge the “plan” at the moment given it is focused on getting a new playing roster and undoing the mistakes of the past. That Jennings contract is a club killer.
July 18th 2012 @ 12:02pm
steve b said | July 18th 2012 @ 12:02pm | Report comment
Mushi i respect your view ,,and hope your right because at the moment it just looks like they are thrashing around and mudding up the water even more than they have in the past..
July 18th 2012 @ 2:31pm
mushi said | July 18th 2012 @ 2:31pm | Report comment
To be clear I’m not saying they’ve got a great plan, as I don’t know their plan and given Gus is heavily involved I have my doubts. But to have a hope of getting back to what they were they almost need to clear the cupboard.
Lewis would have been great to keep around but if it meant sticking it out with what they had then they’ve both made the right decision. Lewis feels better and goes to a better situation and the Panthers can at least clear the canvas for another attempt.
I think those strong juniors clubs need to look at clubs like the broncos (and even the storm who essentially said they’ll take the fish that John West rejects) and if you have a junior pipeline you pick and chose who you pay and use the juniors to fill the gaps. Under a salary cap teams with juniors have a huge advantage it’s just a few seem opposed to actually using it.
Problem is can the fans live with three years of hell? I think they’ll have to either way
July 18th 2012 @ 3:39pm
Pogo said | July 18th 2012 @ 3:39pm | Report comment
Judging from the Warriors experience Ivan Cleary is a coach who likes to do things carefully from the bottom (i.e. youth) up, as such their may be short term pain before long term gain (hopefully).
A number of people (not this article) have mentioned that Cleary seems happy to let Lewis go. Well if Lewis wants to go Cleary can hardly be advised to force him to stay against his will.
July 18th 2012 @ 4:22pm
Tony Archers Maroon Underware said | July 18th 2012 @ 4:22pm | Report comment
I have a sneaky feeling that Gould like his old mate Politis are preparing for some big moves for the 2014 playing season.
Shock personnel changes, flashy one year deals for SBW its more about clearing the decks for a 2014 splurge than it is about promoting juniors per-se.
it seems like half the NRL is off contract at the end of next season (more than 30 rep players) but the two names that jump out to me are Inglis and Thurston.
The club that has the cash and the room under a newly expanded cap will be able to make a move for both players, they’re mates and no one needs explaining how devastating a combination they could make at club level.
My prediction is that Inglis and Thurston will become the subject of a bidding war between Gould and Politis with the winner making one of the biggest requirement coups in NRL history.
July 18th 2012 @ 4:23pm
Tony Archers Maroon Underware said | July 18th 2012 @ 4:23pm | Report comment
And if they don’t have a go they’re mad
July 18th 2012 @ 5:01pm
GCTiger said | July 18th 2012 @ 5:01pm | Report comment
Sick of people saying Cleary built the Warriors up. He had no choice once the NYC was established as the locals could actuall see all the talent that was getting wasted with Cleary buying hacks every year. Only in that last year did the numbers start to even out., before that hacks like Grant revello and other assorted useless imports were all the rage. Once Cleary was pressured into using Local talent he buggered off.
Long term plans like his are just an excuse to underperform for a few years. No teams besides Manly and Storm(Cap cheating included) stay a top 4 team for a long time. Its not the nature of the competion. Look at Canterbury, if they had a crap coach you wouldn’t expect them to be title contenders this fast, including all there injurys.
July 18th 2012 @ 9:57pm
Sylvester said | July 18th 2012 @ 9:57pm | Report comment
I’m pretty sure the Kiwi youth policy at the Warriors was a club decision, and probably not Cleary’s own. He seemed happy to bring in the overrated journeymen when he could.
July 20th 2012 @ 6:32am
pogo said | July 20th 2012 @ 6:32am | Report comment
Like Ruben Wiki, Steve Price, and Michael Luck?
July 20th 2012 @ 12:13pm
GCTiger said | July 20th 2012 @ 12:13pm | Report comment
I think you’ll find the owner threw the money at a big player and both Wiki & Price were on the market and they accidently got both. As for micheal luck that was Kevin Campion who recommended him. Cleary get no credit.
July 19th 2012 @ 1:08am
Dogs Of War said | July 19th 2012 @ 1:08am | Report comment
I think that the Panthers really want to tap into all the Islander’s who play in the junior leagues out that way, yet they don’t seem to have that many come through the ranks. Panthers will be frightening in the few years if Cleary can tap into that base, and get it developing the talent that it really should be producing. He has it working at the Warriors, no reason it can’t happen at the Panthers. I understand why Lewis wanted to move on, he knows the club is rebuilding, and next year will be sorting out what is left, blooding a few more juniors (though I am sure they wanted to do a few more this year, but the salary cap prevented that), and hoping they unearth enough to get close to making the eight. The real focus will be on 2014 when they should have the room to move under the cap, as well as have sorted out which players they want to base the team around. Probably need a bit of luck to unearth a decent halves pairing as well.
July 19th 2012 @ 5:53am
You reap what you sow said | July 19th 2012 @ 5:53am | Report comment
The issue here is not being able to make the tough calls but HOW the tough calls are made. The worst thing is Cleary has form for this at the Warriors with Steve Price and even worse is that he obviously never learnt the lessons from that debacle. The key words here are PROCESS & CONSULTATION where Leadership/Management 101 shows that key decisions must be implemented with a good process where consultation is at the heart of this process. Key decisions made this way have much better buy-in as the affected person(s) feel like they have been heard and valued regardless of the outcome. As club captain Lewis and a long serving son Cleary could’ve at leasten afforded him this courtesy. It has to be better than the reported method of telling Lewis at training where it was also reported that it was overheard by other players, which means he wasn’t even afforded the courtesy of some privacy. How did that go for you? So much for Gould being the guru to guide the club, I guess he doesn’t know everything after all!