Scott Sorensen gave two answers when asked by foxsports.com.au what motivated Penrith’s remarkable comeback following the grand final of the previous season.

The Panthers second rower at the time said, “Ivan Cleary.”

He talked about the culture that Cleary created. The way he had the players buy into the plan from the beginning and, above all, the faith he placed in each and every one of them.

Especially that trust is powerful. It is what gives every player the confidence to stand just a little bit taller, whether they are seasoned players like Sorensen or a 20-year-old Paul Alamoti who is still figuring things out.

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Alamoti said on Sunday night to foxsports.com.au, “He just gets the best out of every player and knows how to control his players.”

“It’s quite impressive; he plays a major role in the fact that many of the boys were in excellent form towards the end of the year.”

Even yet, it feels like Cleary doesn’t receive the credit he deserves, despite leading the Panthers to four premierships and becoming the first coach to make it to five straight deciders since Clive Churchill (1967–71).

A squad this talented didn’t require a mastermind calling the plays, or so the belief went for a long time, that anyone could coach this version of the Panthers.

Even if Isaah Yeo’s 177 yards and Liam Martin’s deservingness of the Clive Churchill medal were evident in Sunday’s grand final, the coach must come first in any conversation about the 14-6 victory.

Because Cleary altered the gameplan in two distinct ways: first, he told his team to give the Storm a clean catch at the ball before rushing in large numbers to close it out.

 

It followed two games in which Melbourne had dominated the air in their encounters with the Panthers, with Reimis Smith scoring off a bat play by Xavier Coates in Round 1 and Eli Katoa scoring two tries in their most recent meeting at BlueBet Stadium.

The NRL eventually proved that Jack Howarth’s prospective try was the right one, therefore that was the sole near-miss that resulted from that strategy’s overall effectiveness.

Even if you exclude that particular instance, you can still observe how Cleary (119) and Luai (89) rushed the ball on Sunday, accumulating 218 meters on 25 carries.

That is in sharp contrast to the 6.2 runs for 53 metres Cleary averaged before Sunday’s grand final while Luai had 7.8 runs for 65 metres.

To put it another way, Luai and Cleary were an extension of the back five, who all had running meters of more than 100, with Brian To’o reaching 186 in just 58 minutes prior to leaving with an injury.

While Penrith’s forwards rested to increase the effectiveness of their runs, Melbourne’s middles were kept occupied in defense by Luai and Cleary’s relentless running of the ball.

In addition, the halves continued to wear out the Storm until it became too much by turning the ball back inside when they weren’t running the ball, like they had done all season.

The Panthers emerged victorious, controlling field position in the first half and finishing with five forwards on plus-100 running meters to the Storm’s one.

Speaking in the sheds on Sunday night to Foxsports.com.au, Luke Garner described Cleary as the “GOAT.”

“There isn’t another phrase for it. I fail to see why he isn’t considered that after five straight grand final appearances and four victories. That defies argumentation.

“What he and the club do continues to develop better players like myself, especially with the number of players we change over and stuff like that. He should receive greater recognition than he does.

In an interview with Fox Sports News following Sunday’s grand final, Cleary said that the team’s “complacency” throughout the regular season had him “a little bit worried” at times. “Especially in the latter part of the year,” clarified Cleary.

However, there were no symptoms of complacency in the most important games, and according to Panthers assistant coach Peter Wallace, a big part of the team’s recent sustained success can be attributed to the culture Cleary fostered while serving as coach.

That word trust surfaced once more.

Wallace told foxsports.com.au, “He puts a lot of trust in everyone to do their job… he just gets the best out of people and people want to work hard for him and play hard for him.”

“I don’t believe he has received the recognition he merits. It’s a little unbelievable to think that he has won one Dally M coach of the Year and five consecutive grand final appearances.

In light of all of that, where does Cleary stand in the pantheon of the best coaches in the history of the game after his most recent victory?

Well, James Hooper said last month on NRL 360 that if Cleary coached the Panthers to another title, he would be “on par” with the likes of Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett.

At that time, Hooper remarked, “I know they have coached a lot more games and I know that consistently they have had their teams in the finals on a lot more occasions.”

“However, winning four straight competitions is an incredible accomplishment during the salary cap era. That is really amazing.

There’s a chance that Cleary will have his detractors even after Sunday night, and for those folks, there might not be much he can do to win them over.

No matter how prosperous Cleary or the club get, the detractors will never go away. Like this Panthers squad and championship rings at this point, it is inevitable.

Alamoti has a straightforward message for his critics, regardless of what they may say.

“He is the starting point,” the Panthers center stated.

“The most important thing I’ve learned from him and his coaching style over the past year is that he just knows how to talk to you and what to say. He just knows how to control his players.”Although he doesn’t say much himself, he always hits the mark when he does speak. He’s currently on his fourth straight, and he’s not stopping.

“I don’t know what speaks for itself if that doesn’t.”

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