Ivan Cleary has made the shock admission that he almost quit coaching just three years ago.
Dual premiership-winner Cleary found himself at the crossroads after a disastrous start to his second stint at Penrith in 2019.
After a controversial – and unsuccessful – couple of years at the Tigers, Cleary returned to Penrith with much fanfare … before things fell apart in spectacular fashion.
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The Panthers won just two of their opening 10 games that season, the pressure from media and fans was intense, and the club missed the finals for the first time since 2015.
In a podcast released on Monday with good friend and then Penrith head of performance Hayden Knowles, Cleary revealed he came close to tossing it all away.
“That was tough that first year … you were that far away from saying, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore’,” Knowles said.
“Yeah, I was,” Cleary confessed.
“You were that close to giving up because of the pressure … it was affecting the people you love,” Knowles persisted.
To which Cleary replied: “It sounds a little dramatic, but it’s true”.
Fortunately for Panthers fans, Cleary decided to tough it out, and went on to coach his team to three straight grand finals, including back-to-back premierships in 2021-22.
Knowles told Wide World of Sports that only Cleary’s love of the game kept him from quitting.
“We virtually lived together and I could see the toll it all took on him that year … it really got to him and he started to wonder if it was worth it,” Knowles said.
“But he is a fighter and knew he could turn it around – and thank goodness he decided to fight it out.”
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