Rookie's claims for Dally M coach gong ripped apart

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary should be named Dally M Coach of the Year despite Andrew Webster being the raging favourite, says Paul Gallen.

Speaking on Nine's 100% Footy, Gallen disputed claims the rookie Warriors coach should be named ahead of more experienced campaigners like Cleary, who has led Penrith through a period of transition to have them on track for three consecutive NRL premierships.

It is widely expected that the award for Dally M Coach of the Year will be battled out between Webster, Cleary and Kevin Walters.

READ MORE: 'Insane' system ripped after 'mind blowing' Brownlow count

READ MORE: Collingwood boss takes stand as GF tickets feud erupts

READ MORE: NRL grand final axe must fall over this 'howler'

"I don't know how you can go past the team with the minor premiership, I don't know how Cleary doesn't get it," said Gallen.

"Andrew Webster is a great coach and he's done a great job, but it's not the improvement award, it's the best coach of the year."

No Warriors coach has won the award since Daniel Anderson in 2002, with Webster overcoming several obstacles to have the New Zealand team fall short one game away from the grand final. He lost the likes of Reece Walsh and Matt Lodge, while taking on NRL veterans who have failed to fire elsewhere, and made it work.

Cleary's plight was also difficult but from a completely different vantage point. The Panthers coach, who won the award in 2014 and 2020, managed to keep his team at the top despite losing both playmakers for large chunks of the year, on top of the exits of both his 2022 senior assistant coaches as well as pivotal players in Viliame Kikau and Api Koroisau.

According to Gallen, Cleary's consistency should be rewarded, especially since last year's winner, Cowboys coach Todd Payten, failed to lead North Queensland back to the finals after a stirring 2022 campaign.

Watch the 2023 NRL grand final exclusively live and free on 9Now

"We saw it last year when Todd Payten won it because they finished 15th the year before and third last year, and they ran nowhere this year," he said.

"From my point of view I think we should have an improvement award. But I think Webster will get it (coach of the year) I'm not trying to discredit what he's done."

Since the Panthers' first premiership victory under Cleary in 2021, the task has become more difficult every season with Penrith players leaving at the height of their value.

"I don't know what more he could do," Nathan Cleary said ahead of the finals campaign.

"At the start of every year there are murmurs that we're going to fall off because we've had success and we're losing people.

"But it's been pretty impressive what he's been able to build with the culture and the systems that allows new people to come in and do the job.

"I don't think winning it means a lot to him, plus you've got some amazing nominees this year like Webby and Kevvie Walters with what they've been able to do, but I don't know what else he can do."

The Brisbane coach is also a prime candidate, considering he proved many doubters wrong by leading the Broncos to a grand final when his credentials in NRL land were questioned when he made the switch from Maroons coach.

Throw on top of that the issues stemming from Selwyn Cobbo's podcast comments, which saw Walters' coaching credentials trashed before the 2023 offseason, Walters has shown immense will amid a storm of negativity to guide the Broncos to their first decider since 2015.

"I think Kevvie deserves to be Coach of the Year," veteran halfback Adam Reynolds said.

"You only have to look back a couple of years ago when he took over the Broncos, he came in at a time where the team wasn't doing too well and their confidence was shot.

"Players weren't playing to their potential and he has turned the club around in a short amount of time. He has the belief factor back in the team and he has got us playing an exciting brand of football that everyone loves watching.

"I love Kevvie as a bloke. He is a terrific fella who knows how to have a good time, but he knows when to be serious. They are good traits to have as a coach."

Other candidates that deserve a mention also include Newcastle's Adam O'Brien, who secured an extension off the back of the Knights' 10-match winning streak to finish the season, and Craig Bellamy who pushed the Storm to fourth spot without Ryan Papenhuyzen for much of the year, following the exit of the Bromwich brothers, Brandon Smith and Felise Kaufusi.