Nathan Cleary

[southerntiger]

I don't think he will come and by all accounts he has similar deficiencies in defence to our guys.

Cleary is miles ahead of Brooks and Moses in every aspect of the game.
No one has similar deficiencies to Brooks and Moses. They are world leaders in missed tackles.
Cleary might miss a a tackle or two but he is a good defender plus his only 18 and played 16 games.
What's Brooks and Moses's excuse?

I don't rate N Cleary as highly as many do and I suspect he benefits greatly from playing behind one of the best packs in the comp.

I wonder how effective he would be behind our sack of pillows.

It's not just that, he's played 18 games total, not even a full season. His team is doing alright and they are a good pack as you note, but I can think of so many halves who hit the ground running but can't necessarily sustain that over multiple seasons.

So the kid looks calm and collected, looks like a really sensible footballer, but how about if his team misses the finals for a few years, or if a few injuries strike?

People said all this stuff about Brooks after 20-odd games… and he hasn't really gotten any better since then.

Thats how I see it. I also see a lot less upside to Cleary's game. He does the simple things well, and that may be enough, but he is not fast for a young kid and I suspect his lack of pace will be even more telling as he ages.

Re your 20 games point, I am a big english football fan and one thing I have observed is that most strikers have 1 or 2 good seasons at a maximum. It is only the genuine champions - Linekar, Shearer, Drogba - that succeed over a continuous period. The reason for this is that opposing teams work them out. They know which way they will turn, how much speed needs to be accommodated etc. I see the same thing for halves in rugby league.

 

[sideline_eye]

**He's more than a coach: Elijah Taylor backs Ivan Cleary as Wests Tigers coach**

Michael Chammas
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Wests Tigers lock Elijah Taylor says the club will get more than just a football coach if they appoint his former coach Ivan Cleary as Jason Taylor's successor.

The Tigers forward says he was stunned the club decided to axe Taylor after three rounds and believed the club had acted prematurely in sacking the coach following back-to-back losses.

However it's opened the door for his former Warriors and Panthers coach to take the reins at Concord.

"He gave me my debut opportunity at the Warriors back in 2011," Taylor said of Cleary.

"That was my debut season and training full time with the Warriors when I was 18\. I followed him to Penrith and we all know what happened there. You want to play for him. He's a coach you want to play for. He's a family man. He puts trust in the players to play what they see and freedom to the players.

"A lot of the Penrith boys keep in touch with Ivan. It's just that relationship. He's more than a coach. A lot of the Penrith boys that we had hope to see him get a coaching job… He's the type of coach that will fit in everywhere. When he was coaching at the Warriors, all three grades were in the grand final on grand final day. it says a lot about recruitment and the way he handles and manages players. That's one of his strongest assets - man management. But I can't choose the coach – I have no power there."
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While Taylor will no doubt be ecstatic to work under the man he followed from the Warriors to Penrith, where he was shown the door by Anthony Griffin, he couldn't hide his disappointment over the clubs' decision to part ways with their coach.

"A lot falls on the players. The last two performances haven't been up to par. It's not the coach out there dropping the ball. It's not the coach out there controlling our energy or missing tackles," he said.

"That's our job as footy players. But round three...I thought it was a bit early. It caught me off guard big time. We'll see what happens. We just finished four months of finishing an off season with a coach and now he's gone. It's round three and we play the Storm this weekend. We'll have to dig deep and work hard for each other.

"Just the timing – and that JT brought me from Penrith. Just the timing – round three. We have another four months of footy to play. I thought it was too early. I played at the Warriors in 2011 when we lost our first three games but still made the grand final."

This is the third club in which Taylor has experienced a changing of the coach.

There has been a suggestion Jason Taylor restricted Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses' attacking flair during his time at the club, but Elijah disagreed.

"Coming in as a fresh pair of eyes from a strict regime under Anthony Griffin, they had a lot of freedom under JT," he said of the halves.

"They still have a lot of freedom now. They had the freedom to play what they see under JT. They'll have that freedom with whatever coach comes in because they are so dangerous and you don't want to restrict players like that."

 

[jirskyr]

Interesting ET's comments, he still comments like a new guy, a lot of outsider-type view. A refreshing sort of take on things.

 

[Geo]

Taylor is all class…

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Nice balance in his comments. It would be tough when he has a high opinion of both of them. He has the potential to be caught between a rock and a hard place, but he handled it well. Sympathises with JT and that he believed his sacking was premature, yet fully endorsed Cleary at the same time.

 

[TopTiger]

His comments are very diplomatic re Taylor and Griffin. He obviously holds Cleary in very high regard which would please the Tigers hierarchy no end given his is the favourite to get the coaching job!!

 

[jrtiger]

Dear Ivan,

Please ensure that Nathan doesn't sign a long term deal with Penrith to come to us in a few years and create a dynasty that is untouchable.

Regards,

JR and the rest of the Wests Tigers fan base.

 

[851]

Dear Ivan,

Please ensure that Nathan doesn't sign a long term deal with Penrith to come to us in a few years and create a dynasty that is untouchable.

Regards,

JR and the rest of the Wests Tigers fan base.

Hard to imagine the kid is just 19 with 30 odd NRL games to his name, and yet Brooks has had nearly 80 games and isn't half the player that Cleary is

 

[weststigerman]

Dear Ivan,

Please ensure that Nathan doesn't sign a long term deal with Penrith to come to us in a few years and create a dynasty that is untouchable.

Regards,

JR and the rest of the Wests Tigers fan base.

Hard to imagine the kid is just 19 with 30 odd NRL games to his name, and yet Brooks has had nearly 80 games and isn't half the player that Cleary is

Why? Cleary is the best young half in the game, and Brooks is not at that level. Not many halfbacks under 25 are at Cleary's level, not hard to imagine at all.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Dear Ivan,

Please ensure that Nathan doesn't sign a long term deal with Penrith to come to us in a few years and create a dynasty that is untouchable.

Regards,

JR and the rest of the Wests Tigers fan base.

Hard to imagine the kid is just 19 with 30 odd NRL games to his name, and yet Brooks has had nearly 80 games and isn't half the player that Cleary is

Why? Cleary is the best young half in the game, and Brooks is not at that level. Not many halfbacks under 25 are at Cleary's level, not hard to imagine at all.

Sort of like wondering why Jack Wighton isn't on Tedesco's level having been around the same amount of time. Different level's of players.

 

[earl]

Dear Ivan,

Please ensure that Nathan doesn't sign a long term deal with Penrith to come to us in a few years and create a dynasty that is untouchable.

Regards,

JR and the rest of the Wests Tigers fan base.

Hard to imagine the kid is just 19 with 30 odd NRL games to his name, and yet Brooks has had nearly 80 games and isn't half the player that Cleary is

Why? Cleary is the best young half in the game, and Brooks is not at that level. Not many halfbacks under 25 are at Cleary's level, not hard to imagine at all.

Comparing Brooks to Cleary isn't fair. We should also be honest and Brooks wasn't much worse than Cleary when we played them.

Brooks does have a lot to improve in his game but I don't think he is that bad.

 

[earl]

Dear Ivan,

Please ensure that Nathan doesn't sign a long term deal with Penrith to come to us in a few years and create a dynasty that is untouchable.

Regards,

JR and the rest of the Wests Tigers fan base.

Hard to imagine the kid is just 19 with 30 odd NRL games to his name, and yet Brooks has had nearly 80 games and isn't half the player that Cleary is

Why? Cleary is the best young half in the game, and Brooks is not at that level. Not many halfbacks under 25 are at Cleary's level, not hard to imagine at all.

Sort of like wondering why Jack Wighton isn't on Tedesco's level having been around the same amount of time. Different level's of players.

Yep. Brooks could still be a good NRL level player. Cleary could be a good rep level player.

 

[TIGER]

It's pretty simple, if we don't get a really top notch halfback we go nowhere in this competition.
We can sign as many players for next season and beyond as we like but if Brooks doesn't improve 200% we'll go nowhere.
Same goes for our no 9, if Liddle turns out a dud we go nowhere.

 

[innsaneink]

Cronulla won a comp with Chad Townsend in the 7…
Not that simple

 

[teddy23]

I'm gonna leave this here, I just found this article… interesting....

So the question on everyone's lips since Ivan signed with the Tigers has been whether father and son will reunite?

"It couldn't work if he's not established," Ivan believes. "If he's established then that's different."

So in other words, get the cheque book ready Gus, because the man you sacked is coming for the man you need most.

"I like him as a player," Ivan jokes. "And obviously I like him as a person ... sometimes.

"But at the end of the day, it'll be his decision. I have discussed it with him and with them [Panthers], too. But I'm not his manager. I'm involved so I'll listen to what they propose.

"But really he's 19, just started playing first grade and has two years to go on his contract. I don't think he should be in a hurry. He knows that. I think the Panthers should just enjoy what he's doing for them at the moment. If he wants to stay, he can stay."

As for Nathan, he couldn't be happier with his surroundings at the Panthers. So much so he removed a clause allowing him to leave the club if his father left. But even he can't hide the appeal of playing under his father in the future.

"I definitely think down the track I'd be keen to do it," Nathan says. "I can't lock anything in. But you don't know what can happen in two years. I'm happy at the Panthers and when the time comes we can talk about what's next. I just have to get out there, be consistent and stay in first grade."

Yes two years is a long time in rugby league. In fact, two years ago Ivan was at the helm of the Panthers and despite a horror season plagued by injury, looked as though he was on the verge of something special at the foot of the mountains.

 

[sideline_eye]

Interesting article, do you have a source for it? I'd be interested to know who wrote it.

 

[TSupps05]

Surely this is a gee up. But if not i think playing under his father would be a promising chance to take as it will make things much easier around the house.

 

[Geo]

Interesting article, do you have a source for it? I'd be interested to know who wrote it.

Michael Chammas
Published: August 5 2017 - 10:33PM

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/wests-tigers-vs-penrith-panthers-nathan-vs-ivan-cleary-battle-starts-at-home-20170805-gxpzs4.html?deviceType=text

 

[FreddyK]

I love it! Nathan has got it over Gus.

It sends a very clear message to Gus - put your hand deeper in your pocket or I leave. Common Gus you can do better, make Nathan an offer he can't refuse - Guess: it must have at least 6 zeros per year. Gus hates those million dollar plus contracts

 

[newtiger]

The way our club burns coaches who's to say Ivan will be here in 2 years.