One-of-a-kind exit fit for always unique Ivan Cleary

In a sport where coaches can be cycled through like middle forwards off a bench, or sacrificed at the altar of on-field results, it's rare when one has the chance to go out entirely on his own terms.

And giving 18 months' notice, no less.

But Cleary knows what it means to be unique.

The entire premise of a salary cap system is that teams should be unable to achieve the kind of sustained success he masterminded at the Panthers.

Cleary, 55, was not even born when a team last won four consecutive titles, and that St George side that won 11 did so decades before the league had a salary cap.

Even the fact Cleary had a chance to coach Penrith to their dynasty was unique.

A coffee catch-up with then-Panthers chairman Dave O'Neill laid the groundwork for Cleary to make a controversial early exit from Wests Tigers and return to the Panthers in 2019.

The zenith of his first stint in charge, a preliminary-final loss in 2014, seems modest given what he would achieve in his second.

But that first shot signalled Cleary's potential with Penrith, for so long a rugby league sleeping giant that had never properly harnessed its wealth of junior talent.

During his second stay, it was a golden generation of young prospects that came through the ranks to help Cleary lift the Panthers to greatness.

With their young guns boasting hundreds of hours of childhood practice together, the Panthers were uniquely positioned to take full advantage of the sport's speed in the set-restart era.

The likes of Jarome Luai, Brian To'o, Stephen Crichton, Liam Martin and Spencer Leniu all became household names coming into first grade to form an unprecedented generation of junior talent.

It was the same production line that kept the Panthers competitive even as salary cap pressure forced star players out.

Between 2021 and 2024, no other team could keep up, and no other team hoisted the trophy.

Cleary's relationship with his halfback was also unique: When has an NRL coach ever been able to work with his No.7 from birth as Cleary did with son Nathan, now arguably the game's best player.

The Panthers had never seen anything like the success father and son would achieve together.

In the 52 seasons prior to Cleary's second stint, the club had managed only two premierships and one other grand-final appearance.

Then there's Cleary himself.

In his autobiography, Cleary talks about being thrust into coaching the Sydney Roosters' reserve-grade side the year after his playing career ended.

In those early days, Cleary tried his hand at coaching in the way we now associate with Craig Bellamy, Des Hasler or Ricky Stuart, who was the Roosters' first-grade coach at the time.

But flapping the clipboard around and beating his chest never suited the stoic Cleary, who found the number one rule of coaching was to just be himself.

Shots of a calm and contemplative Cleary in the coach's box have become routine in broadcasts of Penrith games.

In many ways, this modern iteration of the Panthers, with their high completion rates and committed defence, were built in Cleary's consistent and unflappable image.

It was fitting then, that Cleary remained entirely composed on Wednesday, even as he called time on Penrith's finest hour.

Where others might have speculated or pontificated, Cleary would not even venture a guess as to what his coaching legacy would be: "I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead."

Asked whether there was anything at all that would bring him back to the NRL, Cleary was again at his laconic best.

"No," he said.

So Cleary's second stint, which began shrouded in controversy, ends covered in glory.

Beyond possible representative coaching and an advisory role at the Panthers, what the next chapter holds is uncertain for him.

But it seems likely Cleary will continue marching to the beat of his own drum.