Panthers coach Ivan Cleary. Photo: NRL Photos.
Penrith NSW Cup coach Ben Harden will move into the NRL coaching ranks from next season, sitting alongside Ivan Cleary as an assistant.
Weekender columnist Peter Lang reports that Harden will relinquish his coaching duties with the reserve grade side and replace Ben Gardiner in the NRL coach’s box.
Gardiner is heading to the Perth Bears as an Assistant Coach to Mal Meninga in their inaugural season in 2027. He announced earlier this year that he would depart Penrith at the end of 2025.
IVAN’s NEW ASSISTANT COACH
Penrith Panthers 2025 NSW Cup coach Ben Harden will be Ivan Cleary’s new Assistant Coach in 2026.
Harden will relinquish his coaching duties and replace Ben Gardiner as one of Cleary’s assistants with Gardiner heading to the Perth Bears.
Current Flegg… pic.twitter.com/x6ZyoCYDBR
— Peter Lang (@PeterVLang) October 12, 2025
The move will give Penrith stability for the 2026 season in the coaching ranks as they look to go one better than this year’s Preliminary Final finish.
Peter Wallace is Cleary’s other assistant.
The Panthers will soon name a new NSW Cup coach, and it’s likely they’ll also name a new Jersey Flegg coach. Current coach Jono Rolfe is expected to move into another role in the Panthers pathways system for 2026.
Troy Dodds
Troy Dodds is the Weekender’s Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.