Ogre
Kennel Participant
- Joined
- May 11, 2014
- Messages
- 269
- Reaction score
- 250
IVAN Cleary is still undecided about remaining at the Tigers or moving to the Panthers to coach his son.
After reading the tea leaves in the court of public opinion, the smart money was on Cleary fronting up and saying he was remaining as Wests Tigers coach for the time being.
Instead he calls a 7am meeting before training and tells the players he’s uncertain what his future holds.
While all of this conjecture and speculation and madness is going on, behind the scenes the Penrith Panthers are patiently waiting for the river card to drop.
Because let’s not kid ourselves, the real prize in all of this is the signature of the 20-year-old NSW State of Origin halfback, Nathan Cleary.
he Panthers are now bullish about the fact they’re going to re-sign the young gun Cleary on a five-year deal until the end of 2024.
Only as recently as last week there was speculation the deal for Nathan to join his Dad, Ivan, at the Wests Tigers was done.
But with the Panthers making a behind-the-scenes approach to make peace with Ivan Cleary, it now appears check mate, Penrith.
The future for his old man, Ivan, is as clear as mud right now.
Yes, he’s got a contract until the end of 2020.
But if there’s anything we’ve learned over the course of this last 48 hours it’s NRL contracts are no longer worth the paper they’re written on.
Just ask Anthony Griffin.
This is where it gets even further complicated. In sacking Griffin with two years to run on his contract, the Panthers were forced to part with well in excess of a $1 million payout.
And with the Wests Tigers threatening to go legal at Penrith for enticing Cleary to breach his existing contract, the financial collateral damage would toll well over $3 million.
Given the three coaches they’ve already paid out in the last six seasons, the last thing the Panthers need is a bidding war with lawyers involved.
Make no mistake, Ivan Cleary remains dead keen about a return to Penrith next season.
The only catch? The bus he’s created and sold at Concord.
recently as last year, when Mitchell Moses was seeking an immediate release to join the Parramatta Eels, Cleary was quoted as saying “a contract is a contract”.
So if he turns around now and tries to manoeuvre his way out of the final two years of his deal at Wests Tigers, the damage to his credibility is immense.
Cleary has spent his entire career as a player and coach building a reputation as one of rugby league’s genuine good guys.
And he is. But his integrity will not stay intact if he walked out on Wests Tigers.
There’s too many broken promises to players like Russell Packer, Josh Reynolds, Ben Matulino and Moses Mbye.
Meanwhile, it’s plain sailing at Penrith as the Panthers see how their new coaching set-up rolls under Cameron Ciraldo and Peter Wallace.
The quiet tip is they’re a damn good chance of going on a roll and winning the premiership.
With Phil Gould and Greg Alexander casting their eye over things, Ciraldo and Wallace could become one of the strongest rookie coaching combinations we’ve ever seen.
The Panthers have shown they are the new power club in the cut-throat Sydney market place.
Traditionally it has always been the Sydney Roosters and their kingpin chairman Nick Politis but what this latest move signals is, there’s a serious new player in town.
Phil Gould has been a colossal figure in rugby league for the past 30 years but this latest move - as ruthless as it is - is arguably one of his best.
By reaching out to Ivan Cleary about a return to the foot of the mountains, the Panthers are also set to land the biggest prize of all.
The NSW State of Origin halfback and Panthers local junior Nathan Cleary will remain at Penrith until at least the end of 2024.
Is it just me or does anyone else feel like we might have all just been played?
After reading the tea leaves in the court of public opinion, the smart money was on Cleary fronting up and saying he was remaining as Wests Tigers coach for the time being.
Instead he calls a 7am meeting before training and tells the players he’s uncertain what his future holds.
While all of this conjecture and speculation and madness is going on, behind the scenes the Penrith Panthers are patiently waiting for the river card to drop.
Because let’s not kid ourselves, the real prize in all of this is the signature of the 20-year-old NSW State of Origin halfback, Nathan Cleary.
he Panthers are now bullish about the fact they’re going to re-sign the young gun Cleary on a five-year deal until the end of 2024.
Only as recently as last week there was speculation the deal for Nathan to join his Dad, Ivan, at the Wests Tigers was done.
But with the Panthers making a behind-the-scenes approach to make peace with Ivan Cleary, it now appears check mate, Penrith.
The future for his old man, Ivan, is as clear as mud right now.
Yes, he’s got a contract until the end of 2020.
But if there’s anything we’ve learned over the course of this last 48 hours it’s NRL contracts are no longer worth the paper they’re written on.
Just ask Anthony Griffin.
This is where it gets even further complicated. In sacking Griffin with two years to run on his contract, the Panthers were forced to part with well in excess of a $1 million payout.
And with the Wests Tigers threatening to go legal at Penrith for enticing Cleary to breach his existing contract, the financial collateral damage would toll well over $3 million.
Given the three coaches they’ve already paid out in the last six seasons, the last thing the Panthers need is a bidding war with lawyers involved.
Make no mistake, Ivan Cleary remains dead keen about a return to Penrith next season.
The only catch? The bus he’s created and sold at Concord.
recently as last year, when Mitchell Moses was seeking an immediate release to join the Parramatta Eels, Cleary was quoted as saying “a contract is a contract”.
So if he turns around now and tries to manoeuvre his way out of the final two years of his deal at Wests Tigers, the damage to his credibility is immense.
Cleary has spent his entire career as a player and coach building a reputation as one of rugby league’s genuine good guys.
And he is. But his integrity will not stay intact if he walked out on Wests Tigers.
There’s too many broken promises to players like Russell Packer, Josh Reynolds, Ben Matulino and Moses Mbye.
Meanwhile, it’s plain sailing at Penrith as the Panthers see how their new coaching set-up rolls under Cameron Ciraldo and Peter Wallace.
The quiet tip is they’re a damn good chance of going on a roll and winning the premiership.
With Phil Gould and Greg Alexander casting their eye over things, Ciraldo and Wallace could become one of the strongest rookie coaching combinations we’ve ever seen.
The Panthers have shown they are the new power club in the cut-throat Sydney market place.
Traditionally it has always been the Sydney Roosters and their kingpin chairman Nick Politis but what this latest move signals is, there’s a serious new player in town.
Phil Gould has been a colossal figure in rugby league for the past 30 years but this latest move - as ruthless as it is - is arguably one of his best.
By reaching out to Ivan Cleary about a return to the foot of the mountains, the Panthers are also set to land the biggest prize of all.
The NSW State of Origin halfback and Panthers local junior Nathan Cleary will remain at Penrith until at least the end of 2024.
Is it just me or does anyone else feel like we might have all just been played?
