Penrith coach Ivan Cleary finally won his first Grand Final on Sunday night, beating South Sydney 14-12 in his 370th game as a head coach at the top level.
After coming so close last season against the Melbourne Storm, Cleary’s side was able to go one better in 2021 and take home the Provan-Summons trophy to the foot of the mountains.
Having coached in the NRL for 15 years, The Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio thinks the “gorilla” is off Cleary’s back now that he’s won the big prize.
“It had to be done, it really did because of that roster,” Riccio said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“He could not go through another pre-season having lost another Grand Final, the weight of expectation and pressure, it would be almost too much.
“It’s just rewards, to be honest, he’s deadset one of the good guys in the game, Ivan Cleary.”
After failing to win a premiership as a player from 186 first-grade games, Riccio believes this success is a culmination of a lifetime spent striving for one goal for Cleary.
“We’ve known Ivan as a player going way back to the Roosters days, as he said in last night’s press conference, it’s been 45 years of waiting to win a premiership, it’s not just the last two seasons for him,” Riccio said.
“He has wanted this so badly, and it is a big gorilla off his back, no doubt.
“Wayne Bennett admitted as much, having won all of his premierships he knows the weight that’s lifted off your shoulders once you get it done.
“Now the catch is, can he go back to back?”