NRL 2024: Ivan Cleary’s mid-season comment to ‘complacent’ Penrith Panthers that steered them towards premiership

Ivan Cleary revealed he questioned the desire of his ‘complacent’ Panthers during the season, a moment that stung the players and ultimately sparked their run towards a fourth-straight premiership.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: Nathan Cleary (R) of the Panthers poses with the Provan-Summons Trophy alongside his father and coach Ivan Cleary after winning the 2024 NRL Grand Final match between the Melbourne Storm and the Penrith Panthers at Accor Stadium on October 06, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Four-time premiership-winning Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has revealed his players became “complacent” and were “off track” during the year while superstar son Nathan admitted the Panthers lost their “ruthless” edge and his dad was “frustrated.”

In late August, after a loss to Canberra, the usually conservative Ivan publicly questioned his side’s hunger and desire – a comment which stunned and stung the playing group.

Ivan and Nathan saw concerning signs creeping into the Panthers, particularly at training, which the coach wanted to address privately and publicly.

After the round 25 loss to the Raiders, Ivan said: “I totally believe we can win it but we have to make a decision on whether we want to pay that price to win it. At the moment, there is probably a question mark around that. If you want to go the whole way, it’s not easy, and you have to pay a hefty price along the way.”

They were the words which prodded and provoked his Panthers to another premiership.

In a jubilant post-grand final dressing room on Sunday night after a 14-6 win over Melbourne Storm, Ivan and Nathan opened up on the coach’s spray.

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There was a time mid-season where Ivan Cleary thought Penrith’s premiership aspirations were ‘off track’. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

When reminded of his comments, Ivan said: “There were times when I saw a little bit of complacency. It’s really hard to explain because it was subtle, and other people may not have seen it.

“We were winning most games but weren’t playing at a level that I thought we needed to. I wasn’t trying to mind games, I was just basically saying what I saw. There were times this year when we got off track and weren’t as ruthless as we have been in other years.

“I didn’t necessarily choose to do it publicly – I was just being honest at the time because that’s what I saw. I told the players that at other times as well. Deep-down, they knew it as well. We have set our standards pretty high here.

“I probably underestimated the Origin series and what that took out of players. And the victory NSW had.

A loss to the Raiders was the wake-up call the Panthers needed. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

“These guys have played five grand finals in a row and five to six of them play Origin every year, rep games after the season, big games, a lot of footy, so it has to take a toll somewhere. I think it’s only natural that you’re not going to be at your best all the time.

“To win a premiership and play through a final series, you have to find reserves, you’ve got to make sacrifices and it’s pretty clear that’s exactly what they did.

“Once the finals hit, the boys went to another level and we certainly showed that on Sunday night. There was no sign of any complacency when we hit the finals. I couldn’t be prouder.”

He said with a smile in a triumphant dressing room: “I’m prepared to let them off.”

Nathan agreed there were games when his side wasn’t “ruthless” enough.

“I think we did need it (Ivan’s dressing down). We were probably overlooking things and not being as ruthless as we could be. (Dad) was probably frustrated at what we had been tossing up for a while,” Nathan said.

Nathan Cleary and father Ivan share a moment together after their fourth-straight grand final. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“We had spoken about it internally quite a bit. It probably wasn’t so much signs, but it was coming out in the way we were playing. Usually that comes back to your training.

“To be honest, the whole year, we hadn’t defended the way we wanted to but we found that ruthless edge and our best defensive efforts through the big games, the finals.

“For the majority of the year I guess we were waiting around for the finals. That’s when we hit the ground running and played our best footy.”

The Panthers have now claimed four successive grand finals – a feat not achieved since the legendary St George side which won 11 straight titles between 1956 and 1966.

“The team and staff here are very process-driven and always looking to improve,” Ivan said. “We learn from the past but try not to live in the past.”