When credit is being apportioned for Penrith’s golden run, the last one who seems to receive his share is Cleary. It’s either his son, Nathan, or the club’s production line from junior nursery to the NRL.

Indeed, some would have you believe the team coaches itself, although that ignores the club’s culture when he took over in 2019; the trickiness of coaching his son, despite Nathan’s ability; watching two key players squeezed out by the salary cap each year; and a long list of injuries to key players at the worst possible times during their three runs at the title.

Nobody at Penrith underestimates the coach, however, and you only had to watch the club’s superb three-part docuseries Undisputed, which chronicles the Panthers’ run through last year’s finals series, to understand his value.

The moment that stood out for me was in episode two when Cleary spoke to his players in the days leading up to last year’s preliminary final against Melbourne at Accor Stadium.

Penrith have continually talked about the 2020 grand final loss to the Storm as motivation to become a better club.

But a twist was revealed in the docuseries. Cleary doesn’t see the Storm as an enemy nor nemesis. Instead, he considers Craig Bellamy’s team as something to admire.

“I’m inspired by Melbourne,” Cleary tells his players. “I started coaching [in 2006] when they started winning. They’ve made eight of the last nine preliminary finals. That’s phenomenal. They’re still there now, even though people say they’re not playing well. They haven’t had the greatest year compared to what they’ve done before. I totally respect them. I totally respect Craig Bellamy and what they’ve done at that club.”

Can you imagine the likes of Warren Ryan, Bob Fulton, Ricky Stuart or even Bellamy saying that about the opposition? What about Michael Maguire, who sticks images on the dressing-room wall of rival players with “roadkill” scribbled in red Texta across their face?

In the so-called modern era, new approaches are required, and Cleary isn’t afraid to take them.

“In 2020, we learnt the hard way,” he continues. “We got a lesson in the grand final. We all know that story: we’re the underdogs, they’re the top dogs. But the wheel has turned. Are they more dangerous now because they’re the underdog? We’ve still got to find the fire to take these blokes on because they will have it.

“We trust what we do. What got us here. How we prepare. How we play. The only way you can fail is not facing your fears and taking them head on. Accelerating in those times, when you’re worrying about yourself, your injuries, fatigue, whatever. Face it head-on. You can’t fail when you do that.”

Fabulous stuff. Where’s a wall? I feel like running through one.

“He’s got a knack of delivering a good speech and that was one of the greats,” hooker Mitch Kenny says. “That put everything I was worried about to bed.”

The key lesson Penrith took from the 2020 grand final was they were never going to get bullied again. With hulking prop James Fisher-Harris and a runaway fridge known as Moses Leota – the Fisher and Paykel with Eyes – running into the teeth of the defence, it’s hard to recall a time when the Panthers have been rattled.

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Except, of course, the first 20 minutes of the second half of last year’s grand final against Brisbane, who meet Penrith at BlueBet Stadium on Thursday night in an early season rematch.

The final 20 minutes of last year’s grand final, when they blew a 24-8 lead, still haunts the Broncos, whose players this week revealed coach Kevin Walters had barred them from speaking about the match.

Sometimes, however, your pain is your cure. It’s worked for Penrith and Ivan Cleary.