A relaxed, yet clearly annoyed, Ivan Cleary has shrugged off questions about ‘Trainergate’ ahead of the Panthers’ preliminary final clash with the Storm tomorrow afternoon.
When asked who would be replacing suspended trainer Peter Green for the game against the Storm, Cleary chuckled.
“Do you guys really care, honestly?” he replied.
“We’ve patched our medical staff up, just like the rest of the team.”
Cleary was adamant that Penrith have not been bogged down by that controversy, which has dragged on through the week across both traditional and social media platforms.
However, his hackles were raised by some of the coverage, which has focused heavily on Green, having earlier this season been involved in another incident that drew a warning from the NRL.
“It hasn’t been disruptive at all,” Cleary said.
“We feel bad for both of our trainers involved, one of which was named and shamed which I just think is completely unfair.”
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On Tuesday, the NRL announced Green been suspended for the remainder of the season, and the club had been fined $25,000.
“We kind of understand how [the NRL] came to that conclusion but at the end of the day, they were just doing their job,” Cleary said.
Although bench hooker Mitch Kenny will miss tomorrow’s game, Cleary said both Brian To’o and Villiame Kikau, who remained under injury clouds, would play.
“He [To’o] looks really good this week. Billy looks good too,” Cleary said.
The Origin winger missed the win over the Eels with an ankle issue, but Cleary said that with bigger games on the horizon, it was more precautionary than anything else.
“He could have played last week but we actually pulled him out,” he said.
“It’s going to be a big benefit for him and he looks completely different this week.”
Melbourne will be fresh after a week off, following a comfortable win over Manly a fortnight ago. Opinions have always been divided on whether that precious week off is actually beneficial for teams.
“I guess we’ll find out around 5.30 on Saturday,” Cleary said when asked for his view.
“It’s the question that’s asked every year that never properly gets answered, I don’t think.
“Both have their advantages, we certainly went into the first week of the finals with the desire and the intent to win that game.”
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The coach said his team were hardened physically and mentally and had no concerns relate to fatigue, despite the frantic pace that the team has played at year – particularly in defence.
“I’m not worried about being tired, at all. There’s been absolutely no signs of that in this team for two years,” Cleary said.
“They’ve gone through a couple of tough encounters for sure, yes we’ve had a few injuries, but there’s no signs of tiredness. I do think we’re battle-hardened.”
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