Ivan Cleary with the 2024 NRL Grand Final trophy. Photo: NRL Photos / Photosport
Ivan Cleary has the greatest grand final record in the NRL era. Ahead of Penrith’s first match here in six years, Michael Burgess catches up with the super coach to discuss his groundbreaking success, his long Warriors tenure and building a winning culture.
Ivan Cleary has changed the NRL but his groundbreaking success doesn’t appear to have changed him.
Not much anyway.
That’s the overriding impression you get when catching up with the former Warriors coach and current Penrith supremo, ahead of their first match in Auckland since June 2019.
A lot has happened in the intervening years. Back then, Cleary was beginning his second stint at the Panthers – after a controversial exit from the Wests Tigers – and it had been a struggle. They lost seven of their first 10 matches, before rebounding, with the 19-18 win round 15 win over the Warriors their fifth on the bounce. Penrith still missed the top eight – by a point – before the start of their golden chapter the following year, as they ran away with the minor premiership (only two regular season defeats) and reached the grand final, losing 26-20 to the Melbourne Storm.
Then came the marathon of miracles. Four NRL premierships in succession, with grand final triumphs over Souths, Parramatta, Brisbane and Melbourne. No coach in the modern era has achieved such a streak – not Wayne Bennett, not Craig Bellamy, not Warren Ryan, not Jack Gibson – and at a time when the NRL has never been more competitive.
Cleary is a bona fide supercoach but remains the same genuine, humble guy that made him so popular at Mt Smart. Penrith insiders say he is a great people manager, a father figure to his players. And through the highs and lows, he remains calm and composed, certainly by NRL standards.
Building culture
Apart from game systems and tactical knowledge, Cleary is a genius at building a culture. He transformed the Warriors identity – with four playoff runs in six seasons between 2006 and 2011 – and has created a renowned team-first environment at Penrith, the envy of the competition.
“The Warriors for me was a really good introduction for [culture], firstly, as a player and then as a coach, after coming from Sydney clubs as a player,” Cleary explains to the Weekend Herald. “The biggest thing I learned was you can come from any background, as long as you fit the values of the organisation you’re in.
“The sport is a lot more diverse [now], from when I first started playing, with different styles of people and I feel like it works better when you can let people be themselves. There will be a certain way of doing things in your own organisation and, as long as they’re doing that, they can be whoever they want to be, you know?”
The proof is in the pudding, as the Penrith machine has rolled on, despite losing top players after every season due to salary cap pressures. Even this campaign they have rallied from last place after six rounds with a 1-5 record to be ninth ahead of this weekend.
However, it still seems that the 54-year-old is somehow underrated, missing out on the Coach of the Year award over the last four seasons but he dismisses that idea.
“I don’t feel that way,” says Cleary. “At the end of the day, there’s so many good coaches, and only one can get the award, so I’d be happier getting the Premiership, to be honest.”
Last year Cleary also completed his autobiography, Not Everything Counts, But Everything Matters, which was highly acclaimed.
“I was a bit hesitant at first because I didn’t really want it to interrupt my day to day but I found out that it was actually quite good for it because a lot of the reflections of good memories can keep you kind of sharp,” says Cleary. “I wasn’t really ever thinking about a book but it’s worked out pretty well.”
Auckland opportunity
Facing the Warriors is always poignant for Cleary. The club was a massive chapter of his career, as he spent a decade in Auckland as a player, assistant coach and then head coach, while two of his children were born here.
“It was a special time,” says Cleary. “They gave me the chance to be a head coach and at a young age too (34). I was pretty inexperienced and I’ll forever be grateful for that. It was a really good experience. It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure, and we had some ups and downs, but I was working with a lot of good people and I love the club, love the fans. It’s really good to see them doing well again this year and filling the stadium, that’s probably the coolest thing. The club definitely holds a special place in my heart.”
He has no regrets about his tenure, although admits the manner of the 2011 grand final defeat to Manly still irks him.
“I’d love to have [that match] back again,” says Cleary. “I thought we were really ready to win that and it was a lot closer than the score (24-10) suggests. But you always feel that way if you’re losing it. I’m proud of my time here, but I definitely learned a lot of stuff. It’s very challenging along the way and you’re learning on the run.”
He still enjoys Auckland and is grateful when locals have kind words to say, despite the passing of time.
“They definitely remember me,” says Cleary. “It’s a pretty big chunk of my life and we have fond memories. The Warriors was where I started with it all. So without them, I wouldn’t be sitting here now.”
He wouldn’t completely write off coming back here one day – “who knows, coaching is a weird thing” – but it’s more likely he will be at Penrith for life, or at least as long as he is wanted.
“I couldn’t really imagine going anywhere else,” he admits.
His former assistant, Andrew Webster, has taken the Warriors to the greatest heights since the Cleary days, with the preliminary final run in 2023 and the 10-3 record so far this season.
“With his personality and his demeanour, he’s very balanced in that sense and he had a really good coaching pathway,” says Cleary of Webster. “I never had any doubt really that he would do well here.”
Panthers missing key players
Saturday is the long-awaited return of the Panthers to Auckland, with the last eight clashes between the two teams being staged in Australia. But the occasion will be missing something, with the absence of Penrith’s State of Origin quintet – including superstar Nathan Cleary – after Wednesday’s interstate battle in Perth. It’s a source of frustration for Cleary, who also feels that the Auckland crowd will be missing out. It means that Penrith will be at long odds, missing their fullback, Dylan Edwards, halfback Cleary and lock Issah Yeo, along with gun second rower Liam Martin and winger Brian To’o, although they can’t be underestimated.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve turned the corner,” says Cleary of their recent revival. “[But] we have definitely been playing better and it looks more like what we want it to look like. But it’s certainly a big challenge on Saturday night and it’s a good time for it.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.