- Happened during shock loss on Thursday night
Footage has emerged of Ivan Cleary reacting angrily to a Bulldogs fan after Penrith’s first loss of the season on Thursday night.
The Panthers were beaten 32-16 at Accor Stadium, ending their unbeaten start after a dominant Bulldogs performance.
A fan taunted Cleary from outside the coaches box, shouting toward him through the glass following the upset result.
Cleary responded with a crude hand gesture before standing up and walking away from the confrontation.
The incident quickly spread on social media, drawing attention to the coach’s emotional reaction after the defeat.
The NRL is aware of the footage but no punishment is expected, while the Panthers have declined to comment.
The Penrith Panthers coach made the lewd gesture during Friday night’s match at Accor Stadium
Bulldogs fans were in full voice as their club snapped Penrith’s perfect start to the season
The frustrated coach admitted his side had been off the boil in the shock loss to the Bulldogs that ended their perfect start to the season.
‘We showed some decent signs in that second part of the first half, I didn’t really feel like we were playing our best footy,’ Cleary said after the match.
‘To their credit, they were just harder than we were and we just didn’t respond that well … they fully deserved their win. We got reminded what a good hard game of footy looks like and I’m sure will be better for it.’
Co-captain Isaah Yeo said the loss could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
‘Rugby league is the ultimate leveler so it might be the best thing for us to maybe stop a little bit of that noise of people talking about being unbeaten through the season,’ he said.
‘That’s certainly not the case now but I think we’ll be able to look back and just learn lessons from it.
‘We’ve been able to learn lessons from the last few weeks as well but ultimately we’ve sort of been in big leads throughout the game whereas tonight we were sort of a fairway behind and then it’s just a different flow to the game.
‘I think we’ll be able to learn lessons from that and then ultimately, we’ll be better for it. It’ll stop a little bit of noise which is not a bad thing.’
The Panthers will next take on the Dolphins in Brisbane on April 17.
