game during the second half but lost the grand final 26–20. In 2021, Cleary guided the Penrith club to a comfortable 2nd place, on 44 points. This placing them in the qualifying final against South Sydney, in which Penrith were defeated pushing them back into a knock out final the next week. After defeating both the Parramatta Eels and the Melbourne Storm, Penrith qualified for the 2021 NRL Grand Final being held at Suncorp Stadium on 3 October 2021. The Penrith club, with the guidance of Cleary, won the NRL Grand Final against South Sydney, 14–12. This made Cleary a premiership winning coach for the first time after coaching over 370 NRL games. In 2022, Cleary won his second NRL Premiership in a row as coach of Penrith when he guided his side to a 28–12 win over the Parramatta Eels in what was considered by many experts to be one of the best all round performances from a NRL side in a Grand Final. Statistics Coaching Honours Penrith Panthers NRL Premiership: 2021, 2022 Individual Dally M Coach of the Year: 2014, 2020 References External links Penrith Panthers profile Wests Tigers profile Profile, yesterdayshero.com.au Profile, rugbyleague.co.nz 1971 births Living people Australian people of Croatian descent Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Lebanon national rugby league team coaches Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players New Zealand Warriors captains New Zealand Warriors coaches New Zealand Warriors players North Sydney Bears players Penrith Panthers coaches Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Sydney Sydney Roosters players