Blunt Ivan Cleary admission after Penrith Panthers suffer fresh nightmare

Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary did not beat around the bush after the reigning premiers slumped to their fifth straight loss.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has conceded it’s “tough times” at the moment but he’s confident his side will dig itself out of the slump its in because he has “faith in the boys, faith in the team (and) faith in the club.”

Penrith suffered their fifth-consecutive loss on Thursday night when they were defeated 30-12 by the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium.

It’s the first time they’ve lost five games on the trot since 2019 and they will now have to defy history to win the premiership because as per Fox Sports Lab, no team has recovered from a 1-5 start to the season to win the competition.

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“It’s obviously a little challenging lately — that’s probably putting it mildly — we’re just not playing well enough,” Cleary said in his post-game press conference.

“We obviously need to turn that around but once we do I feel like we can get going... but tough times at the moment.”

The Panthers were so un-Penrith-like against the Dolphins that even their superstar halfback Nathan Cleary came up with some uncharacteristic errors like throwing a pass over the sideline.

Ivan was asked whether Nathan’s head knock in Round 4 had anything to do with his off night but immediately shut that down with a frosty response.

“What do you mean?... I thought he was outstanding last week... this week he could’ve probably played better but I just felt like the rest of the team we’re just trying super hard but it’s not clicking,” he said.

The Panthers have prided themselves on their defence over the last five years but their reputation is starting to unravel after conceding 20 points of more in each of their first six games.

Isaah Yeo and Ivan Cleary after the loss.

When asked what’s troubling the Panthers at the moment, Cleary pointed to exactly that and admitted that it is “a little concerning” for the club.

“It’s pretty obvious our defence is not up to standard and that’s having a big effect on the rest of the game,” he said.

“Too many weeks where we just can’t defend our line which just gives the opposition confidence and probably takes ours away a little bit.

“That’s something we’ve historically been so good at so that’s probably a little concerning for all of us so there’s obviously a few questions that haven’t been answered.

“We’ve got to get to work and make sure we improve it because if we don’t the same thing will keep happening. But I’m still confident we can improve we just need to do it at some point.”

Cleary did make a point of the fact that the team has had five different spine combinations in the first six weeks, which has no doubt contributed to the clunkiness but believes turning their fortunes around starts and ends with defence.

“If we can improve our defence it’s going to give us a lot more confidence. Then it’s just a building process from there,” he said.

“I know it looks like doom and gloom but it can change quickly as well.”

It’s doom and gloom right now for the Panthers. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, co-captain Isaah Yeo conceded the five-straight losses is “definitely uncharted” waters for him and Nathan but declared it’s a “wonderful challenge ahead.”

“There’s no point in being a victim towards it, I think you pull your shoulders back, look at it all head-on and that’s what we’re doing,” he added.

“Like Ivan touched on it’s a bit tough going at the moment but I’ve certainly got all of the belief and confidence that once we do turn this around we can go on a run.

“I’d rather that happen sooner rather than later but sometimes those things don’t happen easily, you’ve got to work hard for it.”

Originally published as Blunt Ivan Cleary admission after Penrith Panthers suffer fresh nightmare