When Cameron Ciraldo was 17,000km from home and needed a friend Ivan Cleary was there

At one of the lowest moments in Cameron Ciraldo’s rugby league career, Ivan Cleary dropped what he was doing to be by his side creating a friendship that’s lasted more than a decade.

Lying wounded and alone in a Leeds hospital with an unbearably painful lacerated pancreas, a homesick Cameron Ciraldo desperately needed a familiar Aussie mate.

In walked Ivan Cleary.

Long before the pair teamed up in the coaching box to create Penrith’s NRL dynasty, a potentially serious mishap brought them together.

After playing in Italy’s final game at the 2013 World Cup in England, Ciraldo was back in his hotel room, constantly vomiting, a result of being hit in the ribs in a crunching tackle by Tonga centre Konrad Hurrell.

The second-rower was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, where doctors diagnosed his lacerated pancreas.

Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo made six appearances for Italy. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Most of the Italian players had to leave Leeds after the game, given they had little money to stay on and had been eliminated from the tournament. Players were only paid 20 quid a day.

Italy media manager Peter Peters felt awful about leaving Ciraldo on his own in hospital and immediately contacted New Zealand assistant, Ivan Cleary, for help.

At the time, Ciraldo was playing at Penrith and Cleary was the Panthers coach.

Given Ciraldo was 17,000km away from home and his family, Cleary and his wife Bec, without hesitation, agreed to keep close watch close over the 29-year-old.

And they did each day pre and post-surgery for a week.

Uncomfortable and unsettled with a rare abdominal injury, Ciraldo has never forgotten Cleary’s act of kindness.

“It was a great gesture from Ivan and Bec to take the time to come and see me, considering my wife and kids were half a world away,” Ciraldo said this week.

New Zealand were still alive in the World Cup, while Italy’s 16-10 loss to Tonga in Halifax was to be Ciraldo’s final game of footy.

“It was a long time ago, but it was pretty scary. I reached up to catch a pass and Konrad Hurrell hit me straight in the ribs. I was playing my last game and was 15 minutes from retirement,” Ciraldo said.

“It lacerated my pancreas. They said it was a couple of millimetres from being far worse so I was pretty lucky in the end. I was in Leeds Hospital for a week.

“Then Ivan and Bec came to visit while I was in there.”

(L-R) Cameron Ciraldo and Nathan Cleary.

Ciraldo and Cleary have taken different paths but now find themselves among the elite coaches – Ciraldo as a Bulldog, Cleary with Penrith – who face off in what should be a brilliant NRL game at CommBank Stadium on Thursday night.

And the bond cemented at the Leeds General Infirmary remains concrete-like to this day.

“Our families are great friends. We have spent a lot of time together over the last 14 years. Bec and Ivan have been great support for me and my family,” Ciraldo said.

“Our oldest boy still stays at their house whenever he goes back to Penrith to see (Ivan’s son) Jett Cleary. Ivan’s always been a great support for me. He reached out in 2023 when we weren’t going great (at Canterbury), I appreciated that.”

Ciraldo’s parents, Nick and Kelly, arrived to support their son and Italian football manager Reno Santaguida was also there, but it was Cleary’s visits that meant everything to the Bulldogs coach.

With Cleary’s support, Ciraldo – a former Cronulla, Newcastle and Penrith forward – entered the Panthers’ coaching system and is now, 12 years later, a Dally M coach-of-the-year contender.

Asked about his 2013 support of Ciraldo, Cleary said: “Geez mate, you’re testing my fading memory. I do remember visiting him with Bec.

“He was one of our players who we loved and respected and he was stuck in hospital on the other side of the world, away from family, with a very serious injury so he needed all the support he could get.

Bec and Ivan Cleary. Picture: Jeremy Piper

“He’s a tough bloke, Ciro, because that was a huge blow he took with obviously serious internal injuries that he put up with until well after the game.

“I will always regard him as a friend and never forget his contribution to Panthers.

“But I don’t really think too much about who the other coach (in a game), apart from anything we may know about style, tendencies, etc, that you may think you know. It will be a very big challenge for us on Thursday night.”

Santaguida recalls taking a call from a clearly ill Ciraldo, who was back at the team hotel while teammates ducked out for dinner.

“The night we lost to Tonga, we were out but Cameron kept vomiting in his room so I went back to find out what was happening and then rushed him to hospital. Cameron was in hospital for a week and Ivan visited every day,” Santaguida said.

“The whole team got sent home after they were eliminated. It wasn’t just Ivan but also his wife who were there every day by Cameron’s bedside. They stayed for about an hour each visit.

“I also stayed with Cameron and Ivan would sit with him every day, just to reassure him, see if he was okay and ask whether he needed anything. I know Cameron really appreciated it.”

Peters can also remember the drama.

James Tedesco and Ciraldo before the 2013 World Cup.

“I recall calling Ivan Cleary who was assistant coach of the Kiwis, who were also housed in Leeds,” Peters said.

“I can still visualise the crunching tackle that put an emphatic full stop on Ciraldo’s playing career. He took a hospital pass from his Italian halfback and a Tongan missile in Konrad Hurrell zoomed in and wiped him out in a legitimate but furious tackle.

“Ciraldo seemed okay after the match but collapsed in pain when preparing to go out in Leeds before flying home the next day. It was stressful for everyone when the extent of his injury was diagnosed and we had to leave him behind in Leeds Hospital.

“It was Italy’s last game in the 2013 World Cup and the crowd at Halifax watched a big, experienced Tongan side be too strong for a brave Italian side with Roosters legend Anthony Minichiello the captain and Ciraldo his vice-captain.

“The players were on 20 quid a day and played for their families and heritage. This is how Ciraldo’s playing career ended and the start of his coaching career quickly followed in 2014.”

Sometimes friendship runs deeper than winning a game of football.

Originally published as When Cameron Ciraldo was 17,000km from home and needed a friend Ivan Cleary was there