Ivan Cleary

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Ivan Cleary
fullname = Ivan Cleary
nickname =

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caption =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1978|7|16
placeofbirth = Perth
countryofbirth = Australia
dateofdeath =
placeofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
weight =

position = rlp|FB|CE
club1 = leagueicon|Manly Sea Eagles|16 Manly-Warringah
year1start = 1992
year1end = 1993
appearances1 = 15
tries1 = 8
goals1 = 50
fieldgoals1 = 0
points1 = 132
club2 = leagueicon|North Sydney Bears|16 North Sydney Bears
year2start = 1994
year2end = 1995
appearances2 = 37
tries2 = 15
goals2 = 5
fieldgoals2 = 0
points2 = 70
club3 = leagueicon|Sydney Roosters|16 Sydney City Roosters
year3start = 1996
year3end = 1999
appearances3 = 81
tries3 = 29
goals3 = 303
fieldgoals3 = 0
points3 = 722
club4 = leagueicon|Auckland Warriors|16 Auckland Warriors
year4start = 2000
year4end = 2002
appearances4 = 53
tries4 = 11
goals4 = 195
fieldgoals4 = 1
points4 = 439

coachteam1 = leagueicon|New Zealand Warriors|16 New Zealand Warriors
coachyear1start = 2006
coachyear1end = present
coachgames1 = 77
coachwins1 = 40
coachdraws1 = 1
coachlosses1 = 36

updated = 6 October 2008
source = [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/players/Ivan_Cleary.html Rugby League Project] and [http://www.yesterdayshero.com.au/PlayerProfile_Ivan-Cleary_356.aspx Yesterday's Hero]

Ivan Cleary is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer and current National Rugby League coach. He is currently the coach of the New Zealand Warriors. Cleary played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Sydney Roosters, North Sydney Bears and New Zealand Warriors.

Playing for the Roosters in 1998, Cleary was the competition's leading point scorer with 284 points, breaking the then competition record set by Mick Cronin in 1978. This mark has been subsequently surpassed three times by Hazem El Masri but stands as the most ever points scored by a centre in a single National Rugby League season. He played in the 2002 National Rugby League grand final for the Warriors.

Cleary served as Assistant coach to Tony Kemp and also coached the Sydney Roosters in the NSWRL Premier League before being appointed to the top job at the Warriors before the 2006 season.

2008 NRL Season

Cleary coached the Warriors to the 2008 playoffs, qualifying in 8th place, meaning they had to front up against minor premiers the Melbourne Storm at Olympic Park in the first week of the playoffs. A near impossible task as the Storm had only lost 2 matches at this venue in 3 seasons (one to the Warriors), and since the McIntyre System was introduced in 1999 no 8th placed team had ever beaten the 1st placed team. After a tense and close battle, The Warriors produced one of the biggest upsets since 1999 by beating the Storm 18-15 with a 78th minute try to Michael Witt. This was by far the biggest success of Ivan Cleary's coaching career so far. This gave them a home Semi Final against the Sydney Roosters. 25,585 turned up to Mt. Smart to see the Warriors win 30-13. This gave them a Preliminary Final against the Manly Sea Eagles in Sydney. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Manly won through to the Grand Final 32-6, ending the Warriors season.