As a player, Ivan Cleary was never a representative star but always under-rated despite being a crucial component of every team he played in.
Now as a coach, despite winning three premierships, it’s possible that he is still not getting due credit for Penrith’s dynastic dominance.
Some people will have you believe that he’s not even the most important member of his family when it comes to the Panthers’ three straight titles.
The club’s roster is stacked, Nathan Cleary is the best player in the game, the assistant coaches were the real brains behind the operation, the Broncos choked. There are plenty of reasons put forward as to why Penrith are kings of the NRL but the coach does not seem to get sufficient recognition.
If you need to be convinced about Cleary’s coaching credentials, you need to look no further than Thursday night’s 22-16 triumph over the Roosters at Allianz Stadium.
Everything was set up for the home side to topple the premiers.
The betting market swung on its axis when news of Nathan Cleary’s injury came through early last week with the Panthers going from firm favourites to rank outsiders.
But the coach’s calmness and commitment cooked the Chooks.
As far as he was concerned, nothing changed for his team.
“Nat seems to have a sabbatical every year, this one’s a bit earlier,” Ivan Cleary said 48 hours before his team rumbled with the Roosters with journeyman Brad Schneider stepping into the No.7 jersey. “This might be a silver lining.”
You can say that sort of thing when you have collected the past three premiership rings and a Round 4 clash in March won’t make or break your chances of a fourth.
Nathan and Ivan Cleary after the 2021 Grand Final win. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
But not a lot changed – the Panthers started strongly, retained their usual shapes in attack and dismantled the Roosters.
Isaah Yeo operated like the NRL’s biggest halfback, being the fulcrum for their attacking moves with Schneider taking care of the kicking duties – you need more than one player to replace Cleary.
And that allowed Jarome Luai to play to his strengths, as a secondary playmaker cashing in on broken play (Tigers coach Benji Marshall should have taken note of that for next year), and Dylan Edwards to do what he always does.
The Panthers fullback topped the running metres with 246, with more than half (126) from kick returns, set another up and even banged over a couple of sideline conversions. He also led his team for tackle breaks (six) and post-contact metres (75).
Cleary didn’t reinvent the wheel for the Panthers and his commitment to their cause led to two competition points that otherwise could have been squandered if he tried to overcompensate for his son’s absence.
When it comes to the modern coaches who are considered all-time greats, Cleary may end up with more than all of them apart from Wayne Bennett’s record of seven.
Trent Robinson has three, as has Craig Bellamy (in legit premierships) and only Des Hasler, with two, has multiple titles among active coaches and the Titanic looks more likely to resurface than the Titans winning one anytime soon.
Bennett has not won one since 2010 and is without a job after this season’s campaign with the fledgling Dolphins while Shane Flanagan is rebuilding St George Illawarra seven years after his one title with the Sharks and Ricky Stuart is now more than two decades removed from his sole premiership success with the Roosters.
Cleary missed out on a premiership as a player despite going close at each of his stops from Manly to North Sydney, the Roosters and then the Warriors.
His final match was the 2002 Grand Final loss to the Roosters when he quietly bowed out without any fanfare, aged 31, when he probably could have continued on for another couple of seasons after he was the fourth leading pointscorer that year at 242 behind a few rather handy players in Hazem El Masri, Brett Kimmorley and Andrew Johns.
Despite never getting a look-in at representative level, Cleary finished with an enviable record of 186 games across 11 seasons to rack up 1363 points along the way.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
He has already lost the mantle of most career points in his family with Nathan up to 1437 and climbing after his 162 appearances for the Panthers.
The truest measure of a coach’s ability is not measured in premierships but how high they can take a team on the ladder with the talent at their disposal.
Since kicking off his coaching career in 2006, Cleary has made a habit of lifting sides above pre-season expectations.
He only had one losing season in his six at the Warriors which culminated in their surprise run to the 2011 Grand Final where they were outclassed by the Manly machine.
In his first stint at Penrith, he rebuilt a team which was in a state of constant flux following salary cap mismanagement which led to the exit of Luke Lewis, Michael Gordon, Petero Civoniceva and Michael Jennings.
Despite that, he still managed to get them to the 2014 prelim final before the Panthers prematurely ejected Cleary from the coaching position the following year for Anthony Griffin.
Despite three of their biggest stars in James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses and Aaron Woods leaving, Cleary had the Tigers on the verge of a rare playoff berth in just his second season of trying to make them a respectable outfit when his tenure ended abruptly because the Panthers were keen to get him back.
And that has proved to be one of the smartest decisions in Penrith’s club history because with three trophies already filling the cabinet, they are favourites to add another in 2024 and with the nucleus of their team signed long term, they are well placed to be the most successful dynasty in premiership history since St George’s golden run of the 1960s.
matth
Roar Guru
You really think the Dragons, Knights and Dolphins have been premiership sides? Bennett won a comp with a halves pairing of Hornby and Soward! But Cleary is well on his way to being in that group with Bennett, Bellamy and Gibson
matth
Roar Guru
Manly and Canterbury? That’s right, he did.
London Panther
Roar Rookie
In the time that Ivan has been in the league (or Bellamy for that matter) Bennet has ‘only’ won two premierships (including one the first year Ivan coached). This is despite Wayne having his pick of the litter in terms of teams he goes too.
London Panther
Roar Rookie
You drinking the News Ltd KookAid; the Panthers are evil…
Cam
Roar Rookie
I will admit I'm no Cleary/Panthers fan, but respect for what the bloke has achieved. It isn't easy to sustain excellence in the salary cap era, which is purposely designed to bring clubs like Penrith back to the pack. Early days in 2024, but it is tough to see a scenario where they don't win the premiership again.
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
67,68, 70 and 71. Yes my maths still tells me that’s four in five years! And Balmain did win in 69 by feigning injury throughout.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Balmain won in 1969 !
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
Old era Clive Churchill 1967-71. Four premierships in five years
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Hasler had success at two clubs.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Chris Anderson won grand finals at Canterbury and Melbourne, and got Cronulla to a prelim (which they should have won, but choked).
matth
Roar Guru
Cleary has reach a grand final with two clubs. Bennett has won with two and reached a prelim with a third. Sticky has reached GF’s with two clubs. Are there any others in the modern era? Obviously Jack Gibson created dynasties at Easts and Parramatta
McNo
Roar Rookie
I recall a coach who pushed out a lot of talent at the Tigers to only abandon ship with a win rate below 50% No denying he has done exceptionally at Penrith but he's not yet in the Bellamy conversation and certainly not in the Bennett one. If he can duplicate his success at multiple clubs or keep Penrith in contention for well over a decade he might be a worthy inclusion.
matth
Roar Guru
Plus is crystal clear on their role and they don’t deviate from it.
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
Cleary is approaching the coaching stratosphere of Jack Gibson and Wayne Bennett. A good coach also has to sustain a winning culture. The difference with Cleary is that he develops players through a Club that has a nurturing culture through the juniors and ranks. Not every club has this. This he has done. No one wanted to play for the Pennies back in the early 1970s, but now it’s a different story. They can lose a good player and another steps forward. A good nurturing culture creates player depth across the board. That’s why they look favourites for their fourth title in a row.
Albo
Roar Rookie
All depends which club Nathan had signed with ! It’s the combination of player and coach that has made this Panthers team so strong ! If Ivan had stayed at the Tigers he would have needed Nathan to go there too if the Tigers were to have similar success! But Nathan wanted to stay with his mates in Penrith and so Ivan made the move back there amidst criticisms from Tigers fans.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Coaching is such a fickle game. What happens if Ivan Cleary stays on the Western Tigers bus instead of going to the Panthers? I'm guessing he cements his reputation as a fair to middling coach who hasn't really got it. Bennett or Hasler go to the Pennies and the ''best ever'' coach label is not debated.
Full Credit to the Boys
Roar Rookie
I have noticed people talk about the fact that Ivan had lost a GF as a player and a coach as though that made him a loser. His three premierships now show those for what they were - incredible achievements that kept him learning and evolving.
SSTID
Roar Rookie
On his record you would have to put him up there as the greatest modern day coach. It was interesting listing to his son speaking about him as a coach on the Sunday Footy Show where he said he tends to delegate most of the hard core work to his assistant coaches and he just takes on the role of almost guiding philosophy of the team and man management. And you can see how that manifest itself into the team culture, which is a team that works as a unit built on physical fitness, effort, and belief. Sure they have their stars, but the team can operate just as effectively without their stars. When considering coaches I often look for those tactics or individual plays that you can see the fingerprints of the coach all over them. That is why I often have Bellamy or Robinson up there as supercoaches, because they can execute this sort of thing more often. I am not saying that Cleary doesn't do this - he does and I thought his tactics against the Broncos the other week were a masterclass in beating a team before the ball was even kicked off (provided the team executed the game plan). The one disparaging thing I have with Cleary and I know this is just me and my view of how the game should be played, is that he is always looking for ways to stretch or exploits rules to gain an advantage. His team is so good they don't need to do this sort of thing to win, but I guess it is some psychological factors that seems to drive him to always be looking out for some weakness in the rules to exploit. Yes all coaches do it, but he seems to ramped it up to a new level that (to me) is beyond acceptable sportsmanship. I always find it interesting when looking at documentaries (sport and non-sport) that behind greatness or notoriety there is often a fine psychological driving factor that makes them cross over that line (e.g. Lance Armstrong or Bernie Madoff).
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
This piece does a pretty good job adding up all the successes Cleary has had. When you look at how he's gone with lesser quality players in tough circumstances, it's hard to argue against Cleary not being considered a great modern footy coach.
London Panther
Roar Rookie
Ivan has created a culture where every player gives 100% every game.