Is Cleary the answer?

BURNING QUESTIONS FOR THE PANTHERS: Will the new coach bring new hope? And how will the new forwards fare?

Will the Gould-Cleary era bring new hope?

In typically uncompromising fashion, Phil Gould wasted no time putting his stamp on Penrith as the new general manager of rugby league. On June 20, just over a month into his tenure, Gould sacked coach Matthew Ellliott. Assistant Steve Georgallis was appointed caretaker with the hope of earning the role permanently, but Gould appointed Warriors mentor Ivan Cleary to the 2012 role on June 29. Effectively, Gould sacked two coaches in the space of nine days.

A look at Cleary's record shows why Gould moved so swiftly to secure him. Of his six seasons at the Warriors' helm, they made the finals on four occasions including a top four finish in 2007, a preliminary final in 2008 and a grand final in 2011. The alliance of Gould, a two-time premiership-winning coach himself with an unrivalled thirst for success, and Cleary, who evidently has a magic coaching touch, sees Penrith in enviable shape. Gould's faith in Cleary is emphasised by the club's lack of a big-name signing in 2012. It seems Gould is confident Cleary can turn Penrith's average first-graders into key players, as he did with James Maloney, Jacob Lillyman and Micheal Luck at the Warriors.  

How much will they miss Civoniceva and Waterhouse?

Petero Civoniceva has played 14 seasons, with 30 State of Origin matches for Queensland and 45 Tests for Australia to his name. Trent Waterhouse's career began a decade ago. He played five Origins for New South Wales and 12 Tests for the Kangaroos. Replacing such an elite and experienced duo can't be an easy task. However, closer inspection suggests the timing may have been right for the club to set them free.

Civoniceva, who is contracted to Brisbane in 2012 and turns 36 this year, surely only has this season with the Broncos left in him. Waterhouse, who played in the Panthers' 2003 premiership, had a form slump in 2011 which saw him disappear from the representative scene. He's also reached 31 – usually about the time a player joins an ESL club to give their superannuation a boost. Waterhouse has done just that, signing with the Warrington Wolves for the next three seasons. The Panthers would miss them both if they were at the peak of their powers, but with the pair getting long in the rugby league tooth, it is unlikely either has their best left in them.

How will the incoming forwards fare?

Clint Newton, Chris Armit, Cameron Ciraldo and Danny Galea don't exactly strike fear into opposition packs. Newton was a serviceable back-rower with Newcastle and Melbourne between 2000 and 2007 and has spent the last four seasons with Hull KR. As Matt Orford's less-than-impressive return to the NRL from the UK illustrated last season, signing a player from the lower standard Super League can be a risky proposition – particularly at Newton's age of 30. Armit may be better value. He played over 100 first grade games in seven seasons at the Bulldogs, giving them no-nonsense service in the front-row. Frankly, though, he's no superstar. Ciraldo, who joins Penrith from Newcastle, has suffered a horrific run of injuries. Staggeringly, he dislocated his ankle and broke his leg in the one incident (ending his year) against his former side Cronulla in 2009. That was followed up by a pectoral muscle injury in 2011 which kept him on the sidelines for eight rounds. His injury-stricken past doesn't bring any certainty to the table for the Panthers. Galea will struggle to force his way into Penrith's strongest team. He'll more likely play a role if the side is hit by injuries.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of BigPond Sport.