I think most clubs can learn from the systems, structure and ethos of the Penrith Panthers by watching what they have achieved over recent seasons.
Nathan Cleary is, in the opinion of most, the best player in the NRL at the current time. Having him sitting on the sidelines for a big part of this season as he recovered from injury must have been extremely frustrating not only for him, but for his coach and the fans.
However, Ivan Cleary – who actually may be the best new coach to emerge in our game from the past 20 years – has demonstrated to all rival teams that you can’t rush players back from injury.
I do know what it is like when you see your best player is getting back close to full fitness but is not quite there yet. As a coach you think to yourself: “Can we risk it?”
Sometimes the “not quite fully fit” player can get the job done for you, but far too often the injury is made worse, and the player ends up missing more games than he should have.
I think there are a couple of teams who, given their time again, may not have rushed certain players back when they were not ready. The competition ladder clearly shows this could well have been the case.
But it isn’t marbles these NRL clubs compete in every week and a big percentage of the players do have to carry the odd niggling injury into most games throughout the year.
This is not a blame game, and we need to remember rugby league is a very tough game played by hard men. Players are often called upon to play when hurt, but not necessarily injured, and there is a definite distinction there. Sometimes it can be a very fine line.
But as that famous saying goes: “Who dares wins!”
For Ivan Cleary, he will no doubt have an ace up this sleeve come finals time when his son Nathan hopefully reaches his best form again.
