Ivan Cleary confesses he almost quit as Penrith coach because of his superstar son Nathan: ‘I felt guilty for that’

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has admitted he considered quitting his job with the Panthers after the 2019 season, believing he had become a burden on his superstar son Nathan.

The Panthers have staked their claim as one of the best rugby league teams of all time after clinching their third consecutive premiership with their 26-24 win over Brisbane, but Cleary has revealed he almost made it after just one season had been in charge of.

‘I was thinking about the end of that first year. That was me,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘I felt very burdened by the father-son thing. Nathan wasn’t playing well, and I felt guilty about that. I felt like a burden to him. Then I wondered ‘maybe I’m not the right man for this job’.

‘I could never have imagined what the next four years would be like. I’m glad we stuck with it.’

Cleary said he felt like a burden to his son Nathan (pictured together after Sunday’s grand final win) who was not playing well at the time

Cleary hugged former Panthers chairman Dave O’Neill after Sunday’s three-peat, as it was O’Neill who lured the coach back to the club and terminated his contract with the Wests Tigers.

“Honestly, when I went for coffee with Dave, I had no idea what he was going to ask me,” Cleary said.

‘Honestly, no. When he asked me, my whole being was like “absolutely.” That’s exactly how I felt. My heart was still with Penrith.

‘I love the Tigers. I do. And I’m so grateful for it, but your heart can only be in one place. When Dave asked me to come back, my heart was back in Penrith. I felt like I belonged here and that’s how it worked out.’

Cleary faced a lot of criticism for walking away from Wests, and Nathan says it was difficult for his father.

“The way things went at the Tigers wasn’t the way he wanted things to go,” Nathan said.

‘This was just too good an opportunity to give up. Maybe we were never able to connect. The opportunity to do it at Penrith, which feels like home to us, was something he couldn’t pass up.

‘It hurt him a lot, but to stand here today with this feeling makes it all worth it. It’s quite special.’

Cleary said he never imagined the club would win three consecutive grand finals from four appearances in the biggest game of the year.

Ivan Cleary’s team have dominated the competition for the past four years and will go down in history as one of the greatest NRL sides of all time

On Monday morning after the win, Ivan was interviewed by Today’s Karl Stefanovic and asked about his son’s great attempt to turn the tide of the match by taking one try, landing a crucial 40-20 kick and saving himself scoring in the final minutes.

Cleary sent the hosts into hysterics with his response.

“I said to him yesterday that if I had married someone else he would have been a pretty bad player, so I have to thank his mother for everything he has because it certainly doesn’t come from me.”

‘That’s brilliant!’ co-host Sarah Abo said.

Cleary continued, “I’m so proud of him. You know what? He owes me, I think. “I’ve taken him to so many things and made him lunches and done all this stuff, and he basically makes my life easy now, so God love you, Nath.”