PENRITH PANTHERS SET HIM TARGET.

PENRITH PANTHERS SET HIM TARGET.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has disclosed that, during his first season back with the team in 2019, he considered leaving the team because he felt like a burden to his son, Nathan.

An emotional Cleary talked about the pain he and his family had endured since leaving the Wests Tigers to join Nathan at the Panthers, and why he was prepared to leave it all behind.

After an incredible grand final performance, Nathan Cleary embraces his father and coach Ivan, with Brad Fittler stepping aside.

“At the conclusion of that first year, that was on my mind. I Despite the raucous festivities inside the team’s changing room late on Sunday night, he said to this masthead.

The father-son issue really bothered me. Because Nathan wasn’t playing well, I felt bad about it. I thought I was a burden to him. I then began to consider whether or not I was the best man for the position. Simply put, I had no idea what to expect over the next four years. I’m happy we persevered.

With the historic three-peat on Sunday night, Cleary’s second stint at the Panthers came to a conclusion. That was the duration of the handshake agreement he signed with former chairman Dave O’Neill over a $4.20 coffee at a cafe on the outskirts of Penrith.

Amid the chaos and glitter an embrace between the coach and the man who had brought him back to the team marked the achievement of another grand final victory.

Ivan Cleary and son Nathan sharing an emotional embrace following Sunday’s grand final victory.
Ivan Cleary and son Nathan sharing an emotional embrace following Sunday’s grand final victory.CREDIT: GETTY

In a friendly conversation with former chairman O’Neill, who was there on the pitch as a club guest, Cleary commented, “Mate, look what you have started.”

Unbeknownst to the board at the time, O’Neill was the one who, in one of the season’s most dramatic and contentious tales, enticed the coach back to Penrith by offering to cut him out of his Tigers contract.