‘We’re not going to stop it’: ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys clips Ivan Cleary comments

Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has had the boot laid into him by the NRL after his dust up with Wayne Bennett last weekend.

Ivan Cleary with the 'not this again' look. Picture: Penrith Panthers

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has made a mistake.

That was the message written across the Penrith mentor’s face as he faced more questions on his dust up with Wayne Bennett last week, as he prepared for a sudden death clash with the Parramatta Eels on Saturday night.

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The dust up began when Cleary called on the NRL to protect his son and Panthers halfback Nathan when kicking after Souths complained about blockers protecting the kicker after the sides clashed in round 23.

Wayne Bennett hit back about the “illegal” tactic, which has been in the spotlight this week, before Souths’ 16-10 win over the Panthers last week.

It means the Panthers have to go the long route to the Grand Final, which will lead them through the Melbourne Storm if they can beat the Eels.

After the loss, Cleary spoke first, calling out the NRL over the spat which he said influences referees.

“I had to respond — it’s probably not the forum to talk about it but the NRL has got to make a decision on whether they’re going to allow coaches to deliberately manipulate referees and try to influence them,” Cleary said last week.

“Coaches do it because they can. We get fined afterwards but pre-game, it’s pretty much open slather I think.

“Our boys were certainly being spoken to on the run about things that we never get done for. I’d suggest that type of thing has an influence.”

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary. NRL Imagery

Bennett, who went second, then called Cleary out for leaking the Souths complaint, accusing the Panthers coach of starting the spat and agreeing over not being able to manipulate the referees, before throwing the accusation back at Cleary.

It became talk show fodder for the week with it being labelled a KO win for Bennett.

Cleary Sr. appears the talk however, as he was questioned about the drama again on Friday.

“Do you feel that you or the team may have got too caught up in the talk between you and Wayne during the week?” a journalist asked.

After a pause, Cleary said “no, no I don’t”.

“Have you had any chats with the NRL this week about what you said in the post-game about coaches influencing referees?”

“No I haven’t,” Cleary said.

Journalist: “Is it something you’d look to do in the future?”

Cleary: “Depends on the situation. I said what I said, I believe what I said, so, yeah.”

But speaking on 2GB, ARL Commission Chairman Peter V’landys was on Bennett’s side, confirming the NRL has no problems with the talk before games.

“I think it adds to the game, and the entertainment and the tribalism,” V’landys said. “The theatre last week between Cleary and Bennett was fantastic. Why stop it?

“That’s what drives tribalism, that’s what drives people to want to watch the game. Coaches have every right to seek assistance from the referees and we’re not going to stop it.”

V’landys wants the theatre. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The NRL also weighed in earlier in the week as football boss Graham Annesley said the comments never swayed the referees.

“The point that this particular debate has been about has been attempts to influence the thoughts or views of match officials. My view is that a lot of this is background noise,” he said.

“This has been happening for as long as I’ve been involved in the game. Coaches make public statements, for whatever motivation.

“Referees … tend to make decisions based on what players do, not what other people say. They’re adjudicators. They have to wait for things to happen and they have to make a decision based on what they see.

“A lot of it is noise, white noise.”

This is despite referee Gerard Sutton cautioning Panthers prop Matt Eisenhuth about a potential infringement before Cleary Jr. kicked early in the game.

Originally published as ‘We’re not going to stop it’: ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys clips Ivan Cleary comments