7th Tackle: The real reason Cleary was punted by Penrith
There was much surprise when Penrith sacked Ivan Cleary at the end of 2015, just 12 months after he steered the Panthers to within 80 minutes of a grand final.
The reason for Cleary’s demise? Football supremo Gus Gould simply didn’t think he was tough enough on the players.
When noted task master Anthony Griffin arrived for pre-season a few weeks later he was surprised at the permissive culture among the playing group.
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"When Hook walked into the gym for the first time, he thought he was in a nightclub. That's how loud the music was blaring," one insider remarked.
The old-school Griffin was a complete shock to the system for the 'rock star' clique Panthers who have since been moved on.
With a core of talented, headstrong young players at Wests Tigers, Cleary faces a similar dynamic in his new role.
Yesterday’s news that Mitchell Moses had demanded an immediate release after being dropped down the contract pecking order at the Tigers is proof of that. The fact that Cleary knocked him back is encouraging.
Cleary has spoken honestly over the past few months about learning much from his demise at Penrith.
He's a proven developer of talent and has demonstrated an ability to rebuild clubs with limited resources.
That will certainly be the case at Wests Tigers, whose constant budgetary restraints frustrated Jason Taylor.