New Panthers mentor Cameron Ciraldo on Ivan Cleary, Phil Gould and his coaching future
PENRITH caretaker coach Cameron Ciraldo has revealed he received text messages of support last week from the man who may end up taking his job — Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary.
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PENRITH caretaker coach Cameron Ciraldo has revealed he received text messages of support last week from the man who may end up taking his job — Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with The Daily Telegraph inside Penrith’s Centre of Excellence yesterday, Ciraldo said Cleary had been the most influential person in his young coaching career.
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The same Cleary that Penrith are chasing for the top job Ciraldo currently holds.
And in what was a tumultuous week for both men, Cleary took time to send several messages to Ciraldo, who was preparing for his first NRL game as head coach.
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“Probably Ivan, he’s had a fair influence on me. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him,” Ciraldo admitted. “He has been a mentor to me and a friend as well.
“He is always ringing to see how I am and if I need any advice. I am sure he will continue to do that. Ivan sent a couple of text messages last week. He has also been pretty busy, we all have.
“Ivan is a good man, they are a good family.
“I finished my career under him and enjoyed my time playing under him. For him to then give me a job …
“And for the last six years, to have Gus (Panthers general manager of football Phil Gould) here to bounce things off and learn from. He’s had a massive influence over my understanding of the game; coaching philosophies and structures.
“I had Ricky Stuart and Brian Smith, I took a lot out of them. I got to work with Trent Barrett when he was here (at Penrith) and Craig Fitzgibbon in the Country camp. I was lucky to be part of that for four years.
“There have been a lot influences but I have a taken little bit out of all those people.”
Asked was disappointed at being named caretaker coach only for the club to then openly chase Cleary, Ciraldo said: “No, not at all. Not one bit.”
THE GUS FACTOR
Gould has clinically disposed of Penrith’s past three coaches, his giant shadow hanging over any coach taking the reigns at Penrith Stadium.
“What’s the old saying? ‘There are two types of coaches — ones that have been sacked and ones that are going to be sacked’,” Ciraldo said.
“I haven’t really thought about it. You’re aware of what you’re getting into when you get into this career. That’s the pressure of the business.
“I haven’t thought about being a career coach. You don’t really sit down and think of those things. I’m sure if that (being sacked) was to happen, there would be other things you could do.
“I honestly didn’t think I would ever be a head coach. To be in that role last week was a bit of a shock, a bit unexpected. I’m just trying to do the best job I can at the moment and hopefully we can be successful at the back end of the year.
“Whatever happens from there, happens I suppose. Since I have finished playing, I have gone from one job title to another. I have other interests outside of footy that I wouldn’t mind exploring one day.”
Ciraldo will coach with Gould over his shoulder. The question was simple. Will he be his own man — or the man Gould wants him to be?
“I haven’t really thought about that. Since Peter (Wallace, assistant coach) and I were given our roles last Tuesday, we have just been getting on with business — we haven’t thought about descriptions of each other or anything like that,” he said.
THE PRINCIPLES
Ciraldo lives and coaches by one ethos.
“Just honesty,” he said.
“I think every player just wants honesty and when I was a player, all I wanted was a coach to be honest. So that was the first thing I thought about when I got into coaching a few years ago — be as honest as you can.
“Some people will like it, some people won’t. But at the end of the day, they know where you stand.
“If you’re honest with them and encourage them to be honest with you. I haven’t had a problem with that at this club. The players are all really good people as well as really good players.”
Does his view change now he’s head coach?
“I have my understanding of what I think this team needs at different times. Sometimes what you’re concentrating on does change. At the moment we need a lot of,” he said before pausing. “ … I will leave that one.”
THE PERSON
Ciraldo is quiet and measured. He’s obviously humbled to be in this position, yet excited.
And, in a twist of fate, he’s a Balmain Tigers fan who cried after their 19-12 1989 grand final loss to Canberra.
“I am a family man first. I have a wife and five kids,” he said. “When I’m not at footy I am at home with them. I don’t have too much of a social life outside of that.”
Afternoons at the footy with his father, Nick Ciraldo, hooked him for a life of rugby league.
“I have been a footy head my whole life, ever since collecting footy cards and going to the footy with Dad,” Ciraldo said.
“The game has consumed me. I have been that way since I was five years old.
“Dad was a Balmain supporter and that rubbed off on me. We used to park at his cousin’s house in Haberfield and walk the five kilometres to Leichhardt.
“I treasure those memories.
“I love going to Leichhardt but they didn’t have too much success when I was growing up. I was at the ’89 grand final and was in tears. I had all the jerseys.
“Dad would be blowing up on the hill and yelling out. I’d sit there, head down, trying not to get noticed. He is very passionate.”
THE WEEK
Penrith endured a horrid seven days last week with Ciraldo suddenly and unexpectedly thrown up the new face of coaching.
He offered sensitive words for the man he replaced — Anthony Griffin.
“You feel for anyone that loses their job. He has a really tight family and you feel for all his loved ones involved,” he said.
“It was a difficult week for everyone I suppose. But at the end of the day, Nathan (Cleary) summed it up best: We are professionals, we have a job to do and we just have to get on and do it.
“The job we did (beating Gold Coast in golden point), we would have liked to have done a lot better but, at the end of the day, it’s done now and we have to learn from it and make some improvements.”
THE PLAYER
Ciraldo played 94 NRL games for Penrith, Newcastle and Cronulla. Yet he looks back and remembers a player that lacked confidence and belief.
“I was a battler. I supposed I wanted to be someone others liked to play with — that’s the biggest compliment you can get,’ Ciraldo said. “I would always strive to be that.
“I probably wasn’t a real confident player. I had a lot of self-doubt. That now helps me in coaching when I see that in a young player and can try to give him that confidence, remind him of the opportunity he’s got and what he can achieve.
“A lot of things happened in my career where I thought: ‘Why me?’ I used to get a bit down on myself. Looking back, it’s probably been the best thing going into coach. I understand what they’re going through.
“The problem for me is that I never played Origin or rep footy so I don’t understand what those players are going through so that’s a learning curve for me.”
THE TITLE
Ciraldo’s first win as an NRL coach elevated Penrith into the top four, ahead of a finals run in September. Ciraldo, however, won’t yet discuss the ultimate prize — a premiership.
“I haven’t thought too far past the Titans game last week. We have been head down reviewing that. We are now working on a lot of things for the Knights game this weekend before we even think about premierships,” he said.
“We’ve got three weeks until the semi-finals start. Here have a number of things we want to improve in our game. On our day, if we get our game right, we are capable of a number of things.
“If we get that right, we have the talent to do something special.”