Penrith's nightmare 2019 season strengthened Nathan and Ivan Cleary's relationship and laid a platform for their grand final charge.
That's the verdict from the Panthers halfback, who scored a hat-trick and kicked the decisive field goal as Penrith claimed a preliminary final spot by beating the Roosters 29-28 on Friday.
The father-son relationship has to coexist with the coach-player dynamics for the Cleary pair. Both relationships were put under enormous pressure last year, in Ivan's first season coaching Nathan.
The club's sex tape scandal rattled the Panthers, who plunged from premiership favouritism to a disastrous 10th-placed finish after going 2-8 in the first 10 rounds. As the coach and key playmaker, Ivan and Nathan Cleary copped plenty of criticism.
Yet the seeds were sown for this season, in which they claimed the minor premiership and just beat the back-to-back defending premiers in their finals opener.
"I think we've definitely found the right balance now," Nathan Cleary said of his relationship with Ivan on The Sunday Footy Show.
"Obviously it helps a bit when you're winning. We've had a pretty good year.
"I think last year was actually pretty good for us. It couldn't have really gone any worse, the way we started, so I think it drew us a lot closer.
"We've definitely got a good relationship, which I'm super grateful for and very lucky. I think mum's kind of the rock in the middle of it, she holds it all together.
"She's got four kids but she keeps it all together. She definitely helps between the dad and the coach relationship."
Nathan Cleary is a hot favourite to win the Dally M Medal, thanks to a breakout season in which he's gone from being a very good NRL player to a genuine superstar.
Still just 22, he has the makings of an all-time great, adding far more attacking spark to his already-polished game this season.
Cleary has already been part of two winning State of Origin campaigns with NSW and could become a premiership winner this season. The Panthers are chasing their first NRL title since 2003 and the third in club history.
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nathan-cleary-ivan-cleary-penrith-panthers-relationship-2019-drama/1ddca546-9465-42e1-aa37-e5672c907ad4
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