Wests Tigers players not as ‘disappointed as you think’ about Ivan Cleary’s exit

Ivan Cleary’s departure from Wests Tigers was one of the more controversial coaching movements of last season. But the players at Leichhardt weren’t exactly crying in their beer.

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Wests Tigers players aren’t as “disappointed as you think” about the departure of Ivan Cleary according to skipper Moses Mbye.

Players were left aggrieved by Cleary’s Penrith return last season but Mbye said that quickly subsided when the Tigers enticed premiership winning coach Michael Maguire as Cleary’s replacement.

Maguire has made a point of not referencing Cleary this week but the players spoke about the external noise heading into the rematch having witnessed Cleary’s testy post-game press conference on Saturday night. Cleary became agitated when quizzed about the impending match before leaving his press conference.

Mbye said any thoughts of Cleary jumping off the bus would be wasted energy.

Mbye says the players are used to teammates and coaches moving on. Image: Brett Costello

“A couple of players were frustrated with what was happening,” Mbye said. “Once it all got explained it all got blown over.

“We ended up with Madge (Maguire) and we are happy with it. We are looking for a big game this week.

“We browsed over it earlier in the week that there would be some noise. In terms of this squad we have now with Madge it’s irrelevant. It’s something that’s already happened. I don’t think as many people are disappointed as you think to be honest. It’s one of those things — players are quite resilient to the fact that coaches, administration and players move on quite often.

With two wins from three, the players have every reason to be happy with Maguire. Image: Phil Hillyard

“Madge hasn’t mentioned it. I don’t know if it’s a tactic or what it is. The players find it irrelevant. By talking about it, it is wasting energy we need to spend on Penrith.

“Everyone just assumed (there would be outside noise) on the back of Ivan’s press conference. I think you upset him after the game.

“It was obviously going to be a headline the Tigers playing Penrith in Ivan’s first year over there. We are aware of that.”

Mbye wants a win to make up for last week’s defeat. Image: Phil Hillyard

The Tigers won their opening two matches before being dealt a harsh lesson against the lowly ranked Bulldogs last week. Mbye said the team returning to form — not retribution — should be on their mind.

“We had a poor performance on the weekend,” Mbye said. “Our main focus is responding to that — it just happens to be against Ivan’s Penrith Panthers.

“I wasn’t at the club long enough to really to get to know Ivan too well on a personal level. My initial interactions with Ivan were very positive. I have a lot of respect for him. He is a good coach. I enjoyed my time playing under him. He had an enticing offer to head out to Penrith. It ticked all his boxes and he wanted to pursue it.”

Meanwhile, Friday’s clash will double as Josh Reynolds’ return to the top grade. The former NSW five-eighth will replace the injured Benji Marshall. Marshall will could be out for up to two weeks.

Mbye said the energetic Reynolds was “super excited” about playing his first NRL match this year.

“He has had some really good performances in Canterbury Cup,” Mbye said. “He is an up-tempo sort of player. He gets around the field a million miles an hour. Sometimes that energy is infectious. We are going to need it.

“We spent a lot of time training with (Reynolds) in the halves during summer. I don’t see why it should be a hiccup.”