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https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/it-was-a-shock-mbye-surprised-by-cleary-s-handling-of-tigers-exit-20190402-p519y8.html
Wests Tigers skipper Moses Mbye says he's sure Ivan Cleary would handle his exit from the NRL joint venture differently if he had his time over again.
Five months after his ugly departure from Concord to link up with his son Nathan at Penrith, coach Cleary will come up against his former side for the first time when the two teams clash at Panthers Stadium on Friday night. Cleary's defection still lingers of Concord, an episode which strained friendships between him and officials and players.
For months prior to announcing he had jumped ship on a five-year deal, Cleary publicly maintained that he intended to honour his contract. Mbye says he harbours no ill feelings towards a former coach he respects but understands why some of of his teammates would.
It was a little bit of a shock the way it was handled," Mbye said. "Looking back, Ivan, if he had his chance again, he would have handled it differently.
"It's happened. These conversations are warranted this week because we are playing against Ivan and the Panthers. It's in the past, it was six months ago."
Mbye said he spoke to Cleary on the phone after the coach was released by the Tigers, however, many were informed via text.
"We were on holidays when he made his final decision," Mbye said. "A couple of weeks prior he addressed us and said he was going to stay.
"I don't think it hampered our performance, we went down to Canberra and broke the Canberra hoodoo and we had our best performance of the season." Mbye said he understood Cleary wanted to secure his own future and the chance to win a premiership with his son.
But behind the scenes many Tigers players remain upset, in particular those who signed to play under Cleary.
And Mbye said they had a right to be angry. I can't speak for anyone else. I understand how the game kind of works. It's a game where if you're presented opportunities as good as what he was presented, they're hard to knock back.
"He set out to coach his son and win a premiership with his son. He's got that desire and pursued that goal.
"I have a high regard for Ivan, I have a lot of respect for him. He's moved on and that's it, we're happy with what we've ended up with."
Wests Tigers skipper Moses Mbye says he's sure Ivan Cleary would handle his exit from the NRL joint venture differently if he had his time over again.
Five months after his ugly departure from Concord to link up with his son Nathan at Penrith, coach Cleary will come up against his former side for the first time when the two teams clash at Panthers Stadium on Friday night. Cleary's defection still lingers of Concord, an episode which strained friendships between him and officials and players.
For months prior to announcing he had jumped ship on a five-year deal, Cleary publicly maintained that he intended to honour his contract. Mbye says he harbours no ill feelings towards a former coach he respects but understands why some of of his teammates would.
It was a little bit of a shock the way it was handled," Mbye said. "Looking back, Ivan, if he had his chance again, he would have handled it differently.
"It's happened. These conversations are warranted this week because we are playing against Ivan and the Panthers. It's in the past, it was six months ago."
Mbye said he spoke to Cleary on the phone after the coach was released by the Tigers, however, many were informed via text.
"We were on holidays when he made his final decision," Mbye said. "A couple of weeks prior he addressed us and said he was going to stay.
"I don't think it hampered our performance, we went down to Canberra and broke the Canberra hoodoo and we had our best performance of the season." Mbye said he understood Cleary wanted to secure his own future and the chance to win a premiership with his son.
But behind the scenes many Tigers players remain upset, in particular those who signed to play under Cleary.
And Mbye said they had a right to be angry. I can't speak for anyone else. I understand how the game kind of works. It's a game where if you're presented opportunities as good as what he was presented, they're hard to knock back.
"He set out to coach his son and win a premiership with his son. He's got that desire and pursued that goal.
"I have a high regard for Ivan, I have a lot of respect for him. He's moved on and that's it, we're happy with what we've ended up with."
