Penrith Panthers prepared for wait to sign Ivan Cleary as coach
PENRITH are braced for the long game in their pursuit of Ivan Cleary, and the lengths they are prepared to go to could result in a unique coaching set up at the foot of the mountains.
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PENRITH are prepared to play the long game in their pursuit of Ivan Cleary, adamant they can wait two years to get their man.
In a move that would make Cameron Ciraldo the NRL’s longest caretaker coach, Cleary could be set to see out the final two years of his Tigers deal before switching to the Panthers in 2021.
It appears the highly rated Ciraldo will remain in the head coaching hot seat next season, keeping it warm for Cleary, after Penrith decided against chasing another applicant for the long-term deal.
Ciraldo, who is still just 33, will be supported by recently retired Penrith hooker Peter Wallace, club general manager Phil Gould and Panthers vice-chairman and great Greg Alexander.
Cleary’s move will guarantee his son and NSW halfback, Nathan, signs a long-term deal with the Panthers.
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It comes as The Daily Telegraph can reveal the Tigers had discussed extending Cleary’s contract, before the Panthers’ poaching bid surfaced.
“Everybody is of the understanding that the board, when Ivan is off contract, they would like him to be the coach at Panthers,” Panthers group CEO Brian Fletcher said.
“It a sensible thing, when he’s off contract, if he’d like to come back here, and his son is still playing here, he would get the chance to coach him. Nobody would be hurt, no one would break contracts.”
Tigers chair Marina Go last night accused Penrith of unethical behaviour.
“I think it’s really poor form that they have approached our coach when he has two years left on his contract,” Go told Fox Sports’ League Life.
Cleary addressed Tigers players on Wednesday but apparently would not commit either way his plans for next season.
The Tigers board was due to reaffirm their stance on Cleary. The key question now is whether Penrith will give up on Cleary for next season — or test the Tigers’ resolve again.
It could potentially be untenable for Cleary to continue at the Tigers in 2020 considering the Panthers will be planning their recruitment and retention ahead of his arrival for the 2021 season.
There appears little love between Gould and Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe, a former Panthers employee.
Insiders say that at a meeting a fortnight ago, Panthers chairman Dave O’Neill asked Cleary if he wanted to coach Penrith in the future and that he was interested. After The Daily Telegraph revealed the Tigers would consider legal action if the Panthers tried to induce Cleary to break his contract, Penrith on Wednesday night defended themselves.
“We’re not going to get into any bidding war to get Ivan here tomorrow. You have to honour contracts. If Ivan wants to come here tomorrow, yes, we’d have him, it wouldn’t be a problem,’’ Fletcher said.
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“We asked him if there was an expression of interest in coming to the Panthers and his answer was yes. We’re not asking him to break that contract but we hope he will be here in 2021.
“If he has to honour that and he wants to honour that, there isn’t a problem in the world. We’re in no hurry to get a coach.
“We’ve got a pretty good coaching system with Cameron, Peter Wallace with Phil Gould and Greg Alexander overseeing it. Cameron and Peter are in the system. We’re not in any panic stage. We could wait a year-and-a-half, it wouldn’t worry us.
“Knowing Ivan’s qualities, he will honour the contract but, then again, Wests Tigers might think that if Ivan wants to coach his son and his son is going to play at Penrith, they might let him go. But that’s up to them. We’re not there to pinch Ivan off Wests Tigers.”
