He took the Warriors from a rabble to a team that consistently made the finals. Can't help that feel as if that hyped him up a little beyond his ability.
We only made the top 4 once and the rest of the time had to fight and claw or rely on a late surge to sneak into the bottom half of the 8.
But you know, because it was with the Warriors it was that much more of an achievement.
Our finals appearances were a couple of surprise runs that papered over the cracks.
In 2007 we finished 4th and went out in straight sets to Eels and Cowboys with the Cowboys game being a blowout.
In 2008 we needed a 79th minute 80m try to shock the Storm. We the rode the momentum to beat the Roosters before being destroyed by Manly.
In 2010 we were one and done after losing to the Titans in a game we threatened to come back into but never really looked like winning.
In 2011 we were destroyed in week 1 by the Broncos and then required a 79th minute kick and hope to beat the Tigers. Played our best finals game to beat Melbourne before surrendering in the GF to Manly despite the scoreboard being closer than it looked.
That's not a great finals record. 3 blowouts and 2 comfortable losses in 4 finals appearances.
Our only 2 dominant performances came after last gasp wins. Imagine if those results had gone the other way. Cleary's record would be 0-6 In finals.
He's not a horrible coach, is very good at rebuilding a squad, but because he got the "hopeless Worriers" to become a somewhat consistent side he was suddenly a future star coach?
If his record had been the same while coaching a Sydney side or the Broncos/Storm etc he would have been under way more scrutiny and in some cases wouldn't have lasted 5 years.
But you know - Warriors.
