Ivan Cleary is one of the most strategic coaches in NRL history, which is why he's got four premierships to his name.
His tactics are often unorthodox, however, and his strategy against the Bulldogs on Thursday was no different.
After resting 16 Penrith Panthers stars against the Canterbury Bulldogs on Thursday night, Cleary was quizzed on whether he will work the same tactic into next week, to which he answered in eerily fashion.
“Yeah, we've got a plan. So we will just see how it goes,” he said in his post-match press conference, smiling.
His troops will take on the St George Illawarra Dragons next week, a match that many expect will see the majority of his stars return, however Cleary admitted he was quite happy with how the youngsters in his side played.
“I thought the boys did really well, I sort of threw them in the deep end really. They were coming off a five-day turnaround most of those boys,” he admitted.
“Yeah, I didn't think a lot went our way either. Particularly that period where we lost Zac (Lipowicz)... I thought we handled that really well.”
While the Panthers did lost the match, Cleary sung his side's praises.
“Just right to the end really, defensively in particular. Just kept turning up for each other, and doing the very best they could,” Cleary declared.
“Very proud, it was a good week for our club.”
