Gould, Cleary and the resurgence of the Panthers

Darryl Brohman and Phil Gould returned to play with Penrith in the 1980s and it wasn’t great. Neither were playing well, with Brohman having a particularly bad time.

Once more the team was gathered behind the sticks, awaiting the conversion of yet another opposition try.

Brohman had missed the tackle that led to the try, and an enraged fan was hanging over the fence behind the players absolutely giving it to ‘The Big Marn’.

The Panther fan was yelling that Brohman couldn’t play, definitely couldn’t tackle, should give back the money he was being paid and return, with all haste, to the location from whence he had come – all in far more colourful language.

So strong and unrelenting was the abuse that Phil Gould went over to console Brohman, at which point the fan bellowed, “And take your fat mate with you!”

I’ve subsequently discovered this story is very unlikely to be true, not least because Gould didn’t play for Penrith after 1979. However, the point of telling the story is that I wanted to believe it. To me it seemed that Phil Gould had a talent for alienating people. His strong opinions and pre-Origin rants often get people’s hackles up. I once counted myself among those people.

However, the longer I’ve been involved with rugby league, the more I’ve seen of Gould the good human. Foundation Raider Angel Marina told me that Gould was one of the fairer and more decent players he ever went up against. Then one match day Gould spent 10 minutes talking to my mother and totally made her day.

My view was cemented, however, by watching him at Panther Park. I’ve done the sideline for the ABC there a number of times and on every occasion I’ve really noted just how much Gould interacts with the fans and how much they seem to love him. The last time I was there it took him 15 minutes to get 50 metres because he stopped and talked to every single fan that wanted to talk to him – and that was most of them.

It seems Gould – overweight or not – is a mate that the Penrith faithful want to keep.

And why wouldn’t they? Gould is a local. Having come through the Wentworthville Juniors, he started with Penrith in 1976 and was made their youngest-ever captain at the age of 20. Although he left the club after the ’79 season, he returned as coach in 1990 and delivered the Panthers their first premiership the following year. In 2011 he returned as Executive General Manager of Football and one of his first coups was to recruit Ivan Cleary as coach.

Only 24 months ago, many critics were scratching their heads at just what was happening at the Panthers. Experienced and very popular players were being let go and the replacements didn’t seem much chop. Was Penrith being returned to the bad old days of the Chocolate Soldiers?

Now at the halfway point of the 2014 season, the Penrith Panthers’ no frills line-up finds itself on top of the ladder and barely a critic can be heard. Regardless of whether these Panthers have what it takes to go all the way in 2014, the fans can thank Gould and Cleary for this resurgence.

I have a big soft spot for the Panthers. Of all the grounds I visit, it is the one with the best family atmosphere. It feels like a welcoming place where the community comes together.

I also like the place because of Ivan Cleary, who exudes an aura I’ve only encountered a few times before. Like Tim Sheens, Rod McQueen and Wayne Bennett, you can tell he’s the guy in charge and a very decent man. You can sense it. Earlier this season Matty Johns declared that Cleary would soon be seen as the premier coach in rugby league, I totally agree with him.

ABC commentator Billy Moore was his teammate at the North Sydney Bears in the ’90s and remembers him as a very professional player who had a great effect on his team.

“Ivan was Mr Cool. He was never fazed by any occasion or opponent,” Billy told me. “Clinical, calculating and realistic, he was not a big talker but when he did everyone listened.

“He had the respect of not only the player group but all those around him. He was a great steadying influence. All of these characteristics seem to have flowed through into his coaching.”

When Cleary is in charge there is room enough for only one chief. He doesn’t tolerate dissent. While the likes of Lachlan Coote, Michael Jennings, Michael Gordon, Luke Lewis, Travis Burns and Luke Walsh may not have had issues with Cleary, they have all left the club since his arrival.

Cleary seems to have little regard for reputation and he doesn’t second guess himself.

One of my first interviews with him was in 2012, after ex-Panther Sandor Earl – who Cleary had released mid-season – returned to Panther Park and played a blinder, helping the Raiders to get the points. I asked Cleary if it was hard watching his ex-player do so well.

“Not at all, good luck to him,” was Cleary’s blunt answer. Cleary clearly had no regrets whatsoever. You can bet he feels the same way about all of the other players who have departed. If they aren’t on board with his plans, then they aren’t on board at all.

Ex-Warriors teammate Kevin Campion was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald comparing Cleary to Wayne Bennett. “They don’t put up with big-heads. If you’re not a quality person first and foremost, you have no chance of playing first grade in Wayne or Ivan’s teams.”

Maybe that is one of the reasons Cleary is the only Warriors coach not to have been sacked. There seems little chance of a celebrity, partying culture – so prevalent in the NRL – ever taking root anywhere Cleary is in charge.

There is definitely a surrender of the individual to the team goal at the Panthers now. Recently I covered a match the Panthers won on the back of Jamie Soward’s kicking game. I made a bee-line straight for him as the whistle sounded to ask him all about it. What I got was one of the dullest pieces of radio of all time.

To every question, Soward answered, “I just did my job tonight,” or something very similar.

I persevered on the line of questioning in my interview with Cleary. “Jamie’s kicking is a part of our game plan and he certainly played his part tonight,” was the response I got.

The bloke had kicked a 40/20, easily won his team field position all night, and performed two pinpoint kicks for his wingers to score, but to them it didn’t seem like a big deal at all.

On another occasion Josh Mansour had just returned from injury and had a blinder. For the afternoon he had made 17 runs, 167 metres, 8 tackle breaks, 2 line breaks and scored a try. Surely Cleary would be very pleased about that, right?

“He’s sort of a mixed bag is Josh. But that’s the case with Josh sometimes. I’m sure he’ll be better for the run…”

OK, I guess Mansour had made a few errors, given away a penalty and missed a tackle, but most coaches would’ve been a bit more effusive. However, there must be some love between the two, as Mansour certainly took a lot less money to stay with Cleary than go to Canberra.

This time last year the Panthers were in 10th spot on 14 points. This season they are four wins better off and in equal first place. It hasn’t been on the back of an improved attack. Virtually all their attacking stats are the same as last year and they are only ranked ninth in points scored this season.

It is in defence that you see the improvement. Last season they had the 11th ranked defence, giving up an average of 22 points a game. This season they are the number one ranked defence, boasting under 16 points conceded a match. The backbone of this improvement is that they now concede the fewest metres of any side on average, just 1243 a game, and only Manly and the Rabbitohs concede fewer line breaks.

However, you can be sure Cleary will not be getting carried away. For starters, the only thing that puts the Panthers and the Sea Eagles above the Roosters and the Rabbitohs on the ladder is an extra bye. Further, they are yet to play four of the other seven teams in the current top eight, and six of their remaining games are away from home.

I suspect that the challenge will be too great for them this year, but I certainly hope to see them go deep into September. It would be a great result for the NRL to have an organisation that is based on such high standards of integrity being the premier club.

Whatever the outcome, this side of dedicated tradesmen from the foot of the mountains is definitely gathering its power and belief. They are only four wins away from cementing a spot in the finals for the first time since 2010 and you get the feeling that with Cleary in charge, there may even be some partying and celebrations coming soon for Penrith.

Who knows? Ivan might even join in when they do.

Tim Gore is an ABC Grandstand commentator and statistician
. He tweets from @gorskiopork