Warriors celebrate as Mat Rogers looks on from the ground. AAP Image/Action Photographics, Colin Whelan
It was meant to be the announcement that ruined the Warriors season. The Penrith Panthers had just revealed they’d snared Ivan Cleary’s signature ahead of schedule and many were tipping a downhill slide for the Kiwi outfit.
How would he keep them motivated? Should he stand aside now? Would he last the season? Do the Warriors even have a chance anyway?
Strangely enough they’ve ended up in the Grand Final.
A flick back through the results from this season will tell you that the Warriors were on a four game losing streak up until the moment Cleary put pen to paper with the Panthers.
But over the next 12-weeks they’d win nine games and suddenly a side that was meant to be a fading force had become a powerhouse.
One of rugby league’s great theories has largely been proved wrong this season.
Cleary has masterminded a run of results that few people saw coming. Somehow he has managed to convince his players that he does still care about their futures and the pay-off could be huge.
Wayne Bennett wasn’t so lucky, but contrary to popular belief, he has also proved that announcing a change is on the cards matters little.
The Dragons were only three games into the season when Bennett confirmed he was leaving. But from the moment the master coach ended months of speculation he didn’t see his side lose for the next 10-weeks.
That period included a draw with Parramatta and a bye, but still it’s hard to blame the joint-ventures fading fortunes on Bennett’s decision to leave when you consider that.
It’s easy to forget you had a bunch of players who had to juggle club and State of Origin commitments. Some of those players like Jamie Soward were also doing it for the first time.
They’d also achieved their ultimate goal of winning a premiership in the season just gone. Was it harder to maintain the rage when a premiership ring was already sitting in their bag in the locker room?
The Warriors don’t have that problem. Cleary has managed to find the right blend of youth and experience and is now daring to dream of a fairytale end to his time in New Zealand.
So, do you still believe that a coach announcing he’s skipping town next season equals instant disaster?
I admit I’ve always though so, but season 2011 seems to be telling us otherwise.
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