Ivan Cleary defends call to rest 16 Panthers players against the Bulldogs despite fight for top four
The NRL may consider changes to squad requirements, as Panthers coach Ivan Cleary defended his controversial decision to field a team of rookies and reserve graders for their game against the Bulldogs.
The NRL may look at changes to squad requirements at the end of the season as Penrith coach Ivan Cleary defends his controversial call to rest 16 players for Thursday night’s clash with Canterbury.
The issue of mass restings before finals without a legitimate injury and the impact on the integrity of the competition could be on the table at the end of the season as part of an annual review into process and policies.
On Wednesday morning Cleary said fatigue was a factor in his decision to rest almost his entire first grade team after playing “cut throat footy” for a long time, climbing from the bottom of the ladder in round 12 to within a shot of a top four finish over the past few weeks.
But after back-to-back golden point losses and two games left with no chance to slip lower than seventh on the ladder even with a loss to the Bulldogs, the decision was an obvious one to Cleary.
At the moment it sits within the rules, however, the NRL are closely monitoring the situation.
“The team selection process and rotation of players is a matter for the club,” said an NRL spokesperson.
“Each club and coach is entitled to manage the workload of players and set selection strategies based on the club’s specific circumstances.”
Cleary’s move shocked fans who believed the Bulldogs clash had the potential to be one of the games of the season if both teams were full strength.
At least so far it doesn’t appear to have impacted ticket sales, with the Bulldogs expecting a crowd of more than 25,000 fans at Accor Stadium, with around 700 tickets sold on Tuesday, the same day squad changes were announced.
With no bye before the end of the season, Cleary’s caution could garner further support for a week off before NRL finals in the same fashion as the AFL, although broadcasters would likely object.
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“Every decision that I kind of make in my job, you know, has a lot of different ramifications,” Cleary said.
“They’re not easy, but some come clearer than others, and this one was fairly clear.
“We just decided that, you know, if we’re going to rest a number of them, we might as well just keep going.
“We just honestly just thought, as I said, a lot of parts to this decision that I’m not going to go through today, but it just seemed like the right one. So I guess time will tell.”
The move also sparked integrity concerns and betting was suspended on the match, with the NRL’s integrity unit investigating a betting plunge on the Bulldogs before the Panthers changes were made public.
Across several betting agencies there was a significant drop in the head to head markets, and the four time premiers went from $1.60 favourites with the Bulldogs as $2.30 outsiders, but by late Monday, the Bulldogs were $1.35 and Penrith $3.23.
Penrith have often opted to rest a stack of players heading into finals, but over the past five years they have been sitting comfortably within the top four at this stage of the season.
“Just the fact that where we’ve had to come from last on the ladder in round 12, we’ve been playing cutthroat footy for a long time,” Cleary said.
“So yeah, (fatigue is) definitely part of it.”
Melbourne have also opted to sideline players from their clash with the Sydney Roosters on Friday night.
If the ladder is organised this weekend, top four teams including Canterbury could opt to rest players from round 27 before week one of the finals.
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