Due to his wife’s critical remarks, the Penrith Panthers head coach has decided to end his…
Reflections on a scandal: Penrith’s journey back from the edge
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The Penrith Panthers were involved in a scandal on the eve of the previous season, and the question wasn’t whether it had wings or how far it would fly—or fall.
Ivan Cleary, the coach of the Panthers, adds, “You never want to use anything as an excuse, but I will say it was a pretty big deal.” “So much was unclear—about what was actually in the public domain, how it would unfold, who had what, how deep this goes, and who was involved and who wasn’t.”
Cleary is alluding to the alleged sex-tape controversy that caused his team to fall apart at the start of the 2019 campaign.
The feel-good story of 2020 has been the young Panthers team’s ascent from 10th place one year to grand finalists versus the Melbourne Storm the next. However, when considering what transpired the season prior, the comeback is even more astounding.
NRL teams frequently give the impression of being frail, but their capacity to overcome extreme hardship and emerge victorious—and occasionally even win the premiership—never ceases to astound.
Ivan Cleary and Nathan… The father and son, who are also coaches and players, have managed to balance these complex relationships.
Ivan Cleary and Nathan… The father and son, who are also coaches and players, have managed to balance these complex relationships.CREDIT: GETTY
After the 2010 pay cap scandal, the Storm went on to win the minor premiership the next year and the premiership the year after that.
Similar events occurred with the Sharks, who were completely destroyed by the ASADA scandal and the fines that followed in 2013 before defeating the Storm in the grand final three years later.
Promotion
Brett Stewart of Manly was accused of sexual assault in 2009; he was cleared a year later, and on grand final day, a year later, upon collecting his premiership ring, he boldly told NRL president David Gallop what he thought of him.
On the eve of the previous season, however, something very different occurred at the Panthers.
The club froze in fear of what might happen when pornographic films appeared on social media the day before the team’s second trial match against Parramatta in early March.
Soon, names surfaced. The NRL integrity unit looked into young players Tyrone Phillips, Liam Coleman, and Tyrone May.
“The story broke the night before, so we basically had a crisis meeting before that Parramatta game,” remembers Cleary. It appeared as though the integrity unit was present every day. Then I realized that I was born into the wrong century. Everyone does it, you discover when you speak with people in their 20s. We believed that everything was possible at that point. Who would determine what could and could not be released? And when would it be put to use?
