It seems Ivan Cleary does have loads of character hidden behind that gruff exterior.
In the early hours of Monday morning, let’s say a really drained trying Cleary carried out a hilarious interview on the Today Show, solely hours after Penrith’s gorgeous Grand Final win.
But a seemingly sober and nicely ready Cleary took his spoken phrase to a complete new degree in an expletive-laden journey down reminiscence lane on the membership’s annual awards night time on Wednesday.
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The 52-year-old Cleary coached Penrith from 2012-2015 earlier than he was sacked, shifting to Wests Tigers in 2017 following a break from teaching.
Linked with a return to the Panthers the next yr, Cleary famously launched an announcement declaring he “intends to honour this contract” and stick with the Tigers.
He was gone lower than three months later, returning to Penrith, and Cleary referenced a espresso he had with Panthers chairman Dave O’Neill throughout his wildly entertaining speech.
“He just looked me straight in the eye and said ‘mate, do you want to come back?’” Cleary begins.
“I said ‘hey?’
“He said ‘do you want to come back and coach the Panthers?’”
“And I was just like, ‘f**k yeah’.”
That was a style of issues to return because the room erupted in laughter, screaming and cheering.
Cleary then recalled the 2020 Grand Final when he was massively assured his facet can be far too robust for the Melbourne Storm.
“We went into the Grand Final that year and thought ‘f**k, no one can beat us’,” he recalled.
“As it turned out, the Melbourne Storm kicked our arse that night.
“But they taught us a lesson that night.
“They taught us a lesson in what it takes to win big games.”
Penrith responded from that disappointment in the easiest way possible.
Returning to the decider the next yr, the Panthers eked out a 14-12 victory over South Sydney to get their dynasty really underway and snap an 18-year drought between premierships.
Penrith then thrashed Parramatta 28-12 to safe consecutive titles earlier than final weekend’s all-time comeback win over the Broncos.
Cleary was desperately keen to provide credit score to the gamers for his or her potential to reply to adversity.
“What you didn’t see was the hours and hours and hours of practice,” he stated of that Brisbane comeback.
“Not just physical practice about how they play, but mental practice, mental rehearsal.
“When they’re down, understanding you’re going to have doubts in games.
“I’ve never seen a team have to come back from that big a deficit and yet did not step one foot out of the way we play.
“There was no like random chip and chases or offloads out their arse or anything like that.
“Those players are f**king awesome. I just want everyone to celebrate them.”
He had additionally ready a memorable closing line, referencing each Star Wars and his crew’s plans for 2024.
“On that note, may the fourth be with you.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
