NRL 2021: Adam O’Brien hits back at Ivan Cleary after Panther v Knights clash

Adam O’Brien has taken aim at Ivan Cleary after the Penrith coach made some post-game comments which left the Knights coach puzzled.

Adam O'Brien and Ivan Cleary.

A war of words has erupted between rival coaches Adam O’Brien and Ivan Cleary with the Knights mentor hitting back at claims his side were only in the contest with Penrith because they purposely slowed down the ruck.

O’Brien was left frustrated by Cleary’s post-game comments after the Panthers v Knights clash, where he suggested Newcastle were ‘disrupting’ his side, with a ‘clear tactic’ to lay on his team by giving away six-again calls.

O’Brien dismissed this despite his side conceding five tackle one six-agains.

“The comments were disappointing,” O’Brien said. “He puts a lot of time and energy into his attack, we put time and effort into trying to defend effectively. There were no doubt some restarts on the night but if you’ve watched any game you can see the referees aren’t giving away penalties.

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Ivan Cleary has claimed the Knoghs were laying all over Penrith, giving away six-agains to slow the game. Picture: NRL Photos.

“Some teams may as well pack a pillow given how long they lay on defending players. We aren’t Robinson Crusoe.

“We got beaten by a better team – we acknowledge that but I was surprised to hear that everything post-game was about things they didn’t get. We tried out guts out all night and our players should hold their heads high.

“We got beaten by a classy outfit but it’s a little disappointing for our players to hear that the only reason we stayed in the match was because we played outside the rules.”

The Panthers extended their unbeaten start to the season to seven by beating Newcastle 24-6.

The Panthers were awarded eight set restarts compared to Newcastle’s four. O’Brien said Thursday night was an anomaly.

Adam O'Brien has denied it was a deliberate tactic to slow the game down. Picture: AAP.

“I’m not one for rolling out statistics,” O’Brien said. “We put a lot of time and effort into our defence and the stats say we are the no. 1 team for effective tackles and no. 3 for three man tackles which usually leads to slower play the balls.

“That’s what we are focused on. Heading into this round we were no. 1 for compliance – I’m not sure if that’s changed over night. We have been really compliant in the play the ball area.

“I feel at times we were too nice and that has been to our detriment.”

The Knights play the Roosters next Saturday before games against Canberra and the Tigers.

Originally published as NRL 2021: Adam O’Brien hits back at Ivan Cleary after Panther v Knights clash