Penrith coach Anthony Griffin insists he is undeterred by Ivan Cleary's desire to coach son Nathan at the Wests Tigers when his contract expires at the end of next year.
The tussle for the NSW halfback is set to be the main storyline of this year's off-season with Cleary available to the open market on November 1 - two weeks before his 21st birthday.
Both Ivan and Nathan have previously stated their want to work with each other at some point in their career, with the Tigers in the box seat given Ivan remains contracted until the end of 2020.
When asked about the older Cleary's comments on Friday, Griffin insisted it came as no shock to him and indicated he was hopeful of holding onto his halfback.
"I did hear about that. He's a proud dad and I wouldn't expect anything else," Griffin told reporters on Friday.
"It's a father-son bond before anything. It's something that's always going be there and always has been there.
"If I was in his position I would be wanting my son to play for me as well.
"As a club we've been very good for Nathan over a number of years.
"He's been good for us and he's obviously someone we want to stay at the club."
Cleary's signature is set to be crucial to whatever club lands or keeps him.
After debuting with the Panthers in 2016, he is set to become the biggest name on next year's transfer market with a number of clubs expected to be interested.
This year he became the youngest Blues State of Origin playmaker since Mitchell Pearce and appears likely to hang onto the job well into the future.
He was the NRL's leading pointscorer last year, in turn becoming the youngest player in more than four decades to pass the 200-points mark in a season.
