Ivan Cleary’s place in GOAT coach debate, Wayne Bennett, Craig Bellamy, Penrith Panthers vs Sharks, four-peat #adessonews

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“I think they thought Wayne had a superstar side, but once Wayne left his legacy got bigger.”

Anasta questioned if Cleary’s quiet demeanour has contributed to his lack of awe and respect amongst the game’s coaching greats.

“Is it because he is quiet and he doesn’t have the relationships with the media that the other coaches have?” Anasta asked.

The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis believes Cleary’s quiet approach is a factor, but given his on-field results, that won’t matter once his career is over.

“There is definitely that element to it, he doesn’t court headlines,” Carayannis said.

“He very rarely ruffles too many feathers in his post match press conferences.

“He is very measured and kind of boring publicly for us to deal with.

“But I think the best comparison is probably Trent Robinson. Everyone has had Trent on a pedestal for so long, but Ivan has gone past him now.

“He is not at Bellamy and Bennett levels yet, but he is tracking in that direction.”

The fact that Cleary has achieved such levels of success in the modern era sets him apart, according to Hooper.

“If he wins four in a row then he is on par as being in the same conversation,” Hooper said.

“I know they have coached a lot more games and I know that consistently they have had their teams in the finals on a lot more occasions.

“But four competitions in a row, that is a phenomenal achievement in a salary cap era. That is incredible.”

However, Tallis believes Bellamy will go down as the greatest ever coach.

“I think if you gave Wayne, Craig Bellamy, Ivan and Trent Robinson the same team at the beginning of the year, I think Craig beats them all in my opinion,” Tallis said.

Hooper believes Cleary’s lack of allies in the media could hurt his legacy at this stage of his career.

“That is well warranted given his record over the course of time, but what Ivan has been able to achieve with this team is amazing,” Hooper said.

“I think part of the reason he didn’t get a lot of wraps is because he can be a little bit aloof and he can come across as a little bit tricky to interpret where he is going at times.

“I think you can count his allies and friends in the media on one hand, where as other coaches who have been around for a long time enjoy strong rapports with multiple members of the media and ex-players.”

Cleary’s messy exit from the Tigers, who were left with an overpaid and underperforming roster, so he could return to Penrith, also hurts his legacy, according to Hooper.

“I also think the way he left Wests Tigers, and people will go here we go you are just a crazy Tigers fan, but the way that he left Wests Tigers there is no doubt that did leave a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouth,” Hooper said.

“I think the images of Ivan and Nathan then winning premierships, people then appreciate and have a better understanding of his reasoning, but at the same time he did still say, either get on the bus or get off it and that’s about as colourful as we have ever seen Ivan.”

However, Anasta believes Cleary’s unique style shouldn’t count against him in the coaching debate.

“That’s what makes him unique though, he is not like every other coach and you don’t need to be,” Anasta said.

“He does it his own way and that’s fine. It did take him a while to get to this point and he was compared to Brian Smith because he couldn’t get the job done. And he has now definitely got it done.”

Tallis believes winning a title with another club other than Penrith would help rubberstamp Cleary’s legacy.

“I think if he went somewhere like Parramatta and Newcastle where they haven’t won in a long time and he wins, then he undoubtedly goes down with some of the greatest,” Tallis said.

“I’m only going on Wayne Bennett and when the Broncos were winning they said, he has got a superstar side, he should win every year.

“If you look at Penrith there is no doubt they have the best players don’t they?”

However, Carayannis believes Bennett and Bellamy were also blessed with superior squads and Cleary still has plenty of time to add more premierships to his growing legacy.

“But so did Wayne and so did Craig,” Carayannis said.

“Two are greats already. Wayne and Craig are arguably the best coaches we have ever had. Ivan might get there and if he wins four premierships in a row he has joined that conversation.

“And he could surpass them because if he wants he has got 10 or 15 years left in the game minimum.”