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Chapter 1: What shocking announcement did Ivan Cleary make regarding his coaching future?
Wow, news that has rocked the Rugby League world, Matthew. I didn't think we'd be doing an emergency podcast today, but Ivan Cleary, four-time in a row Premiership winner as a coach for the Penrith Panthers, has announced as of 2027 he will no longer be head coach of the Penrith Panthers Rugby League Club. That's pretty big news. It's huge news.
It's been plenty going on this week in the game. This is the biggest news. I'll just say this off the top. As NRL fans, jeez, we're spoiled. Is there a day that goes by when there's just something that happens in the game? Like there is as much happening off the game ā off the field, sorry, as there is on. I can't remember.
Every single ā Something happened a couple of days ago, and you said the same thing. You went, jeez, a lot of other sports, it's very boring in terms of the drama, but rugby league is so proper.
Chapter 2: How do fans and analysts react to Ivan Cleary's decision to leave Penrith?
It was like a Monday or a Tuesday of this week, and some news broke out, and it was just ā there's always just something going on. It is reality TV within a sporting environment, isn't it?
Without a doubt.
Chapter 3: What impact does Ivan Cleary's departure have on the Penrith Panthers' future?
And as you said before, a lot of people who follow their chosen sport, nothing really happens from Monday to Friday. Then they hit the weekend, it's happening. But in rugby league, it doesn't matter what day it is. There's something to absorb and be entertained by.
Even the scandals, like even bad stuff that happens, it's like there's something always happening. I remember when I was doing the sports news on the Kyle and Jackie O show, and it'd always be, I was looking through all the different sports because I wanted to keep it quite broad because we had Sydney and Melbourne trying to do AFL stories as well.
And I can tell you what, sometimes the stuff that made the cutting room floor, just because there was always just rugby league stories out. Yeah. There's always ā the rugby league journos do a really good job of constantly providing stories for everyone. I can actually see that now. As a player, I thought, geez, they're very pushy. I always wanted that.
Like, you know, always wanting to get stories out. But I can see now it makes the sport so much better having constant stories throughout it.
Chapter 4: What challenges has Ivan Cleary faced during his coaching career?
Without a shadow of a doubt. And I think it was Denny, Denny Weidler, who broke it originally.
did a good job there uh did a job because no one saw this coming and when you come up you go you and jack come up the stairs and you said it at first i was i was extremely surprised but the more you sit on it you think about it you go okay i totally get it particularly listen to ivan talk in the press conference you got like um If you talk about why, there's different things.
Ivan said that he's coached for such a long time. He had that first year at the Panthers. Yeah. Might have been three years, four years maybe even. Tigers for a couple of years, then back to the Panthers. I mean, when you think about Ivan, it's probably because he's ā I played against Ivan ā
Chapter 5: How has Ivan Cleary transformed the Penrith Panthers and the local community?
and I feel like we're about the same age, I still view him as a young coach. Sounds strange.
You do think, especially when you look at some of the other coaches, he's kind of on that pedestal now, given what he's done, particularly the last five years, of your bellyaches and Wayne Bennett's. When you talk about success and you talk about, he hasn't had as long a career as those guys, so you still see him as a very young coach. But I mean, he's done everything there is in the game now.
It started at the Waz.
Yeah. I mean, almost straight out of playing, went in as the coach of the Wows, and then everything's gone from there. He's just ā and well done to Ivan, first and foremost. On the decision, must have been a tough one.
Chapter 6: What role will Peter Wallace play in the transition after Cleary's departure?
He mentioned the family quite a bit. He mentioned his wife, Bec. And that's it. You don't think about the Wows a lot when it gets to coaching, but the toll it must take on them. If you read Andrew Webster's book on Ivan ā You do get a real sense. You only see Ivan, the man who's lifted the trophies and everything, but I tell you what, he went through some very, very difficult and dark times.
Yeah. And it talks about that in the book. Okay, why did he do it? Well, just think about this, right? He has got that club, not just the team, the club flying at the moment. Yeah. And the things that he has put in place will sustain, right? To the point that if Ivan tomorrow said, hey, listen, guys, I'm going to see you in eight weeks' time.
I'm going to go to the States and take in the Soccer World Cup. Yeah. They wouldn't miss a beat. No. The club would sustain.
Chapter 7: What are the potential implications for off-contract players at Penrith?
They would not miss a beat at all. The team, the playmakers, the assistants. And that's not diminishing in any way, shape or form, Ivan and how he coaches at all. It's completely the opposite. He has done such an incredible job. at that club and put those things in place that that club, those players, those assistants could just pick up the slack and they wouldn't miss a beat. Yeah.
That's because of him. That's because of what he's put in place. And I think when you come to that conclusion, he probably feels that himself, that he goes, right, I've got another 18 months there. After that, man, what... What else, you know, what else is there for me?
I wonder, and I know that, you know, he spoke about having a lot more freedom and flexibility and from all indications, seeing how they were interacting with the CEO, it looks like he might take on sort of a from afar coaching consultancy leadership sort of thing.
Can I stop you right there?
Yep.
I've never seen ā I've rarely seen that work. I've heard coaches and clubs say that they flag that coach consultancy. Two things. Number one, I just don't think if you've got coaching in your blood, I don't think that scratches the itch.
Yeah.
No. The other thing is the bloke who comes in that's going to be the coach always probably feels like it's not quite his team. Like, you've got the big shadow there. We saw that with Manchester United and Alex Ferguson. We've seen it all over the place. There's been talk for years about Wayne and Bellier going to that role. It just doesn't happen. I think...
Ivan said he has no plans to coach another club. I will say there was a moment in there where I reckon every Dragons fan would have went, oh, when he said, I've been thinking about the Dragons.
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Chapter 8: Could Ivan Cleary pursue a coaching role in representative football after 2027?
And then he like swallowed a goalie or something. So he held for like three seconds and everyone was going, geez, he's thinking about the Dragons job for next year.
Just got a phone call. Hey, Ivan, I'll call you back.
Who is it? Is it actually Ivan? No. Oh, you bastard. He's still at the press conference, mate.
And like you, it'd be his first call. Yes. And so where was I talking there, Coops? Yeah, like Billy Akin knows, blokes, going to coach consultants, it just doesn't work. And the Dragons fans will be, I've been thinking a lot about the Dragons. Pause.
Everyone would have been freaking out. I know that what he said, he didn't want to coach another NRL club. At the end of 2027, I imagine next year, 2027, that season, he's going to take a backward step and allow probably Peter Wallace to take a lot more of the reins. He might do more press conferences and whatnot to practice him for that. Yes, I think so.
That's the vibe I got when he was talking on there, which I think is great. It's good to have 12. He spoke about someone early in his career that I suppose was a bit more of a mentor for him and sort of sat behind the scenes helping him through that sort of stuff. And he seems like he wants to help Peter with that transition. And I think Peter Wallace is going to be a great coach.
We're going to talk about him. Yeah, we're going to talk about him. But, I mean, a lot can change in 12 months, right? Like he might not enjoy that aspect next year if ā if that is the case, I don't want to speculate too hard, but what NRL clubs would be going to Ivan Cleary and saying, we want your services for 2028?
Well, firstly, he said, yeah, I've got no plans to coach another NRL club. Um, but he did mention rep football. Yeah. You know, Laurie, Laurie's coaching this year and unfairly, I mean, I was listening to a podcast the other day and they're talking about if Laurie loses this series, you know, there's no coming back and you go, mate, poor Laurie hasn't picked up the clipboard yet for this year.
Yeah. But, uh, But if they are, that was almost like you get that sense that that might be a job that he's looking at. But Coop, in this next 18 months, I'm telling you, and the next TV deal's about to be done, so he's going to get more and more money. Mate, the offers that he is going to be bombarded with.
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