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Ivan Cleary deserves better than the Wests Tigers. He deserves better than a board with no business running a bath, let alone a football team.
He deserves better than a powerless CEO held to ransom by his own players. And he deserves better than a roster demanding champagne money for cask wine performance.
Cleary has an excellent reputation as a head coach, and on paper, he’s the perfect candidate for the vacant Tigers’ coaching role. He’s experienced at running a football department, commands the respect of his team, and his ability to help young players reach their potential would be of immense value to the fledgling Tigers’ roster.
But if Ivan Cleary takes this job, it will ruin his coaching career. This will be Cleary’s third coaching appointment, and short of pulling a Face Off with Brian Smith, getting a fourth bite at the cherry is unlikely. He needs to ensure that his next role puts him in the best position to succeed. Unfortunately, this is unlikely with the Wests Tigers.
What have the Tigers got to offer Ivan Cleary? At a board level, Wests make Parramatta look professional. Their petty squabbles and power plays are the stuff of strata committee meetings.
What about the players? The Tigers’ roster is often spoken about as having limitless potential, so surely that’s a drawcard? Sadly, no. The club has channelled all available resources into signing their Big Four, leaving a list devoid of top end talent and sadly lacking in depth.
James Tedesco is worth every penny and Aaron Woods is a representative prop, but the jury is still out on Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses. The Tigers may end up paying massive money for a pair of defensively deficient halves who have thus far proven incapable of executing a simple game plan.
If the cupboard is bare, then surely there must be plenty of money available for recruitment? Afraid not. Years of back-ended contracts and premature terminations have crippled the Tigers’ ability to attract talent. In 2017, Wests are paying almost $1.2 million for players who are suiting up for rival teams.
So again I ask, what have the Tigers got to offer Ivan Cleary? I can think of only one thing: availability. This is the only job on the market and Cleary wants back in. But just like I tell myself each night as I stare at the ice cream in my freezer, just because you can take it doesn’t mean you should.
If I were advising Ivan Cleary, I would implore him to be patient. The attrition rate of NRL coaches is higher than that of blind matadors, so another opportunity is only a matter of time. And after Canterbury’s performance on Saturday night, it could come sooner rather than later.
Cherry’s Jubilee: The proof is in the pudding
Well, that ought to shut them up. On a magical night at Brookvale, where the odds seemed forever in Manly’s favour, Daly Cherry-Evans silenced his critics in spectacular fashion. The Sea Eagles’ captain was in irresistible touch, leading his team to a 36-point massacre of the beleaguered Bulldogs. And it couldn’t have happened at a more fortuitous time.
It’s been a difficult 18 months for DCE. Manly’s million dollar man is a magnet for malicious malarkey, and barely a day goes by without him having to justify his worth and vindicate his pay packet. And that’s just among Sea Eagles supporters.
Cherry-Evans was poor in 2016, and he’ll be the first to admit that. Saddled with an inexperienced halves partner and without the assistance of Brett Stewart, Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai for most of the season, the captain had more on his plate than Junior Paulo.
Add in a revamped and undersized forward pack, a rookie head coach and few niggling injuries, and it would be easy to excuse his dramatic dip in form. But Manly are paying Cherry-Evans like a man who welcomes adversity, and he performed well below the standard expected from one of the highest paid players in the game.
Having endured the lows of last season only makes Saturday night’s performance all the sweeter. Cherry-Evans was all over the park, having a hand in five of Manly’s seven tries. He routinely put his ball carriers into yawning gaps, and his support play was outstanding. The timing and precision required to execute that left-footed grubber at full pace for a charging Tom Trbojevic was poetry in motion.
Manly have now knocked over North Queensland and Canterbury in successive weeks and Cherry-Evans was instrumental in driving both results. His form has thrust him back into calculations for representative honours and transformed the Sea Eagles into legitimate finals contenders. And all it took was a little conflict.
How very Manly.
5th tackle option
Here are five quick thoughts on the action from Round 4.
1. Did we see the NSW halfback emerge on Thursday night? Gee I hope not. In a game billed as a State of Origin audition, Mitchell Pearce and Adam Reynolds reminded us they aren’t Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston. Pearce was busy, always buzzing around the ball, but at no stage did he take ownership of the result.
Reynolds poked and prodded, dipped and dabbed, but never broke the game open. They are who they are, which is sadly never enough.
2. Benny Elias was positively glowing on NRL 360 last week. The radioactive former Tiger must get his fake tan applied at the same tandoori oven as Donald Trump.
3. I’m still not convinced by the Canberra Raiders. They seem to rely too heavily on the wow play to score points. When they click, there’s not a side in the NRL who can match them. But despite their enormous pack of forwards, I worry about their ability to engage in the grind with scrappy sides like the Sharks, Broncos and Storm.
4. There was a moment in Canterbury’s humiliating loss to Manly that encapsulates everything that’s wrong with the Bulldogs’ attack. In the 25th minute and about 30 metres out from the Sea Eagles’ line, a harried Josh Reynolds forced a pass to Moses Mbye on fifth tackle. The halfback had plenty of time to assess the situation and place an attacking bomb.
Instead, he sprayed the ball sideways, where it was allowed to harmlessly bounce into touch. It’s this lack of execution from Reynolds and Mbye that routinely robs the Bulldogs of opportunities to succeed.
5. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Melbourne are a better side with Billy Slater on the park. His competitiveness is borderline certifiable, and he seems to take things like being trapped in-goal as a personal insult.
The speed and intensity at which he operates for the full 80 minutes is unmatched throughout the NRL. I had my doubts about his comeback from consecutive shoulder reconstructions, but he has certainly put those to bed. A moral to walk straight back into the Queensland number one jersey.
Follow Tom on Twitter @_TomRock_