Ivan Cleary has had great success throughout his career at the Penrith Panthers, but there is one other arena as head coach that he would be open to stepping into.
The four-time premiership-winning coach will return to Panthers HQ on Thursday to commence his ninth pre-season camp at the club.
It will be a staggered return to training for his playing group as many players have been on international duty in recent weeks. Although, Cleary’s mind is focused on his plans for next season, a thought to test himself elsewhere has emerged.
Speaking candidly in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Cleary revealed what the next steps of his career could be if he were to ever call it a day at Penrith.
But the star coach reiterated that such thoughts are just a point of intrigue.
“It’s really something I’ve never thought of throughout my career,” Cleary said when asked about potentially moving into coaching at a representative level.
“I have thought about it a bit more lately, I don’t know why. I’m not sure whether I really want to or not, but it’s starting to intrigue me a little bit more.”
Cleary has held roles in the representative arena before, having been an assistant coach for the Kiwis and also called in as a support for Brad Fittler with the Blues.
Those opportunities have left a lasting impression on Cleary.
“There’s something pretty cool about coaching the best players, good players with guys from other teams that I’ve coached against,” he said.
“It’s a different dynamic. The whole thing where you don’t have a lot of time [to prepare] and so that’s something I haven’t really done much of.”
The 54-year-old is set to come across a different kind of challenge while in his role at Panthers this season, with son Jett coming closer to earning his NRL debut.
Jett made the move to join the New Zealand Warriors at the start of 2025, inking a three-year deal with the club.
In his first season in the No.7 jersey for the club in the NSW Cup, Cleary featured in 13 reserve grade games, leaving many expecting he will be promoted into the top 30 roster.
The 20-year-old represented Ukraine last month in two European Championship Tests, but has yet to earn a call-up to first grade.
If he is to receive a call-up this season, it could be a chance for him to come up against both his brother, Nathan, and his father, Ivan’s team.
“Of course, that’s the ultimate goal for anyone who plays,” Cleary said of his youngest son.
“Hopefully it happens one day, If it happens, I just hope there’s some way I can be there.
“I did it twice against Nath. I didn’t really like it,” he added, reflecting on the possibility of coaching against his son.
“My wife hated it more. And he (Nathan) beat us twice, too.
“If that’s how it works out, that’s how it works out. The most important thing is that it works out for Jett.”
Still, the ultimate dream for Cleary would be to coach at the club his two sons are at.
“I say yes without really considering who falls where,” Cleary said of the trio uniting.
“I’ve said this before, one of the advantages of coaching Nathan is that he’s an automatic selection each week. I think it’d be a little harder if that wasn’t the case.
“It would depend on other things, I suppose. It’d be pretty cool, though. I’d love to see the boys play together one day.”
