Ivan Cleary autobiography: Why triple-premiership winner agreed to get out of his comfort zone
Ivan Cleary has stepped out of his comfort zone to reveal his deepest insights with a new soon-to-be released biography of his stunning career, he talks to DAVID RICCIO about why now and what he wanted to say.
David Riccio Chief Sports Writer
Ivan Cleary has lifted the lid on coaching his superstar son, revealing he would struggle to continue if Nathan wasn’t one of the NRL’s greatest players.
Cleary, a normally reluctant media contributor by his own admission, has stepped out of his comfort zone to reveal his deepest insights with a new soon-to-be released biography of his stunning career.
It shapes as the most intimate and detailed perspective from one of the most successful rugby league’s coaches of the modern era.
The three-time premiership-winner needed to be convinced to pen the tell-all story,
‘Not Everything Counts But Everything Matters.’
“But I guess with enough encouragement, and after winning three premierships, it was probably a story worth telling,’’ Cleary said.
In the book, Cleary peels back the curtain on his style of leadership and how he has managed to cultivate sustained football success, of which has rarely been achieved, and with one of the most diverse collections of young footballers.
Not Everything Counts But Everything Matters by Ivan Cleary will be published by HarperCollins in October. It is available for pre-order now via Amazon and other retailers.
He also breaks down the challenges of coaching his famous son, Nathan.
“I wouldn’t have come back to Penrith from the Wests Tigers at the end of 2018 (if Nathan wasn’t as talented),’’ Cleary told The Sunday Telegraph.
“Not having to worry about whether I should pick him, or whether people criticised me, or brought the whole nepotism thing into question, which was always going to be a thing … I don’t think I would’ve done it if Nat was a fringe player.
“I was always confident that he would be up to it and if the decision to pick him or not pick him was keeping me up at night, I wouldn’t have done it.’’
One of the major motivations behind Cleary writing the book, which will be published by HarperCollins in October, was that he hopes he can inspire others far beyond the game on how to keep going when challenged by adversity.
He uses the Panthers’ dismal 2019 season, when finishing 10th in his first year back at the club following a brief two-year stint at the Wests Tigers as an example.
“We finished tenth that year and if I didn’t have a good year the next year (2020), I actually would’ve given it away,’’ Cleary said.
“It sounds a bit like Hollywood ever since then.
“I wasn’t in a good place. I felt really guilty for a lot of people, including the burden I had placed on my son (Nathan) and guys like (former Penrith chairman) Dave O’Neill, who got me back to the club and who had taken a big risk in doing so.
“It just wasn’t working, but we got there in the end.
“A lot of people look back on their life and have similar stories, where in order to make real change, which is difficult, you actually need to learn the hard way.
“By nature I gravitate towards being comfortable, as most of us do.
“So I’ve had to learn over time, even to the point where I knew that I needed to do it, particularly as a coach, I needed to be pushed to the brink, to be able to put it into action.
“It’s now something that comes much easier.
Team | Years | Games | Win | Loss | Draw | Win % |
Warriors | 2006-2011 | 154 | 77 | 74 | 3 | 50% |
Penrith | 2012-2015 | 98 | 44 | 54 | 0 | 44.90% |
Wests Tigers | 2017-2018 | 43 | 18 | 25 | 0 | 41.86% |
Penrith | 2019-now | 144 | 109 | 33 | 2 | 75.69% |
Overall | 2006-2024 | 439 | 248 | 186 | 5 | 56.49% |
* Source:
Rugby League Project
“I never even dreamed of even trying to be that person that others can look to.
“You just don’t realise until you get older that you can have an effect like that.
“You almost feel responsible to share it. That’s part of the reason why I’m doing the book.
“I just feel I’m such a normal person who has worked hard, got lucky here and there and kept at it. “I feel like there’s some things that people can relate too.
“I really want people to get something out of it, not just from a football or coaching sense.
“That’s a big driver for me. I’m not just trying to tell my story. I actually feel like it's a normal story capable of helping other people.’’
Cleary says the title is derived from the everyday coaching he asks of his players.
“Nothing just happens, everything matters,’’ Cleary said.
“I talk to the players a fair bit about that. It’s how I like to coach and I believe in it.
“After doing this long enough, you just know that if you take short cuts somewhere that you don’t think anyone will see or you don’t think means something, it will bite you on the arse at some point.
“You might be doing something a certain way and you’re getting away with it by winning, but somewhere along the way, you’ll fail and you’ll look back and go there were little things that started to slip.’’
The 53-year-old father of four, who has used the books of his own coaching idols as inspiration including,
Sir Alex Ferguson, Bill Belichick, Wayne Bennett and Craig Bellamy, concedes the process of writing his own life story has proven both confronting and cathartic.
“I’m way out of my comfort zone,’’ Cleary said.
“But I suppose that is one of the reasons why I did it as well.
“I’m always trying to encourage my players to get uncomfortable.
“I would be that humbled if anyone got something out of this book like I have with so many other coaches. If I’m able to do that with one person, that would be amazing.’’
Not Everything Counts But Everything Matters by Ivan Cleary will be published by HarperCollins in October. It is available for pre-order now via Amazon and other retailers.