Cashed-up British rugby clubs could be sharpening their pencils to sign NRL superstar Nathan Cleary with one NRL player who is very afraid he will defect to be closer to Mary Fowler.
Mary and Nathan began their relationship in late 2023, Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed.
They have since become Australia's leading sporting duo, garnering thousands of responses from football and rugby league fans via their social media posts.
This sparked rumors that Cleary could join the English Super League in 2025 to be closer to his playing partner Manchester City in the Super League. The Panthers' women were quick to dismiss these claims.
However, Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary recently revealed his son would postpone surgery so he could fly to the UK and spend time with Fowler.
“He's going abroad to see Mary and then he'll sort everything out,” Ivan said Tuesday at the club's awards night.
This again sparked rumors suggesting Cleary could later join the British Super League after winning a record four consecutive NRL league titles with the Panthers.
Cleary travels to the UK as part of the NRL off-season to visit his girlfriend Mary Fowler
Fowler was unable to attend the NRL grand final but sent a message of support from the Manchester City shed
Either way, NRL great and TV personality Matty Johns doesn't like the idea of Cleary floating around the shop windows of British rugby clubs looking to steal it.
“My only concern with Nathan is that going to England will put him in the spotlight or he will just end up in the backyard of the big French and European rugby clubs,” Johns said on Friday on his SEN Morning Glory with Matty Johns show. .
“And there would be a temptation there (to steal it). Some of them (rugby clubs) would probably want to make an offer sooner rather than later, that's the only thing that would worry me.
Johns has first-hand experience having watched English rugby clubs desperately try to sign his brother Andrew in the early 2000s.
“There have been times in our game where our players have had a big presence on the international stage, such as in European rugby, and Andrew (Johns) was one of them,” Johns said.
“There was always a temptation to lure Andrew to a rugby match and face Jonny Wilkinson.”
NRL legend Matty Johns has warned that British rugby clubs could benefit from Nathan Cleary's visit to England
Former Wallaby Peter Fitzsimons has urged rugby clubs to try and sign Cleary while he is in the UK visiting Mary Fowler
Meanwhile, former Wallaby and Fairfax columnist Peter FitzSimons is again urging British rugby clubs to seize the opportunity to sign Cleary while he is under their noses.
“Ideally, we as rugby union could take Nathan Cleary off our hands for about three years, giving him a taste of the real world stage and putting him on the London/Paris/Buenos Aires pecking order instead of Cronulla/Campbelltown/Canberra, regardless from how beautiful these cities are,” he wrote in his SMH column.
“It would also make it easier to see his partner Mary Fowler and give him a break from the brutal physical toll of the league.
'Get it? The NRL squad is freed up for others to win for a nice change, the Wallabies can suddenly become competitive again and Cleary can show his wares away from parochial pomp. What don't you like?
In a bid to ease Cleary to the UK rumors, Penrith Panthers boss Brian Fletcher told fans there should be a counter move to bring Mary back to Australia.
“I said on the radio last year that if we win in 2023, we will definitely win in ’24 and ’25,” Fletcher said. “So don't be afraid of next year. We still have years 26 and 27 ahead of us.
“And that's why I say this, Ivan Cleary and Nathan Cleary are contracted until the end of '27.
“My job and that of CEO of Football Matt Cameron is to extend this as far as we can.
– Matt is also tasked with bringing Mary back to Australia.
Fowler's supporters, in a series of mocking online posts, reacted sharply to suggestions that she should move for the sake of Cleary's career.
“It's great that her boyfriend has a hobby,” one fan cheekily wrote.
Another said: “Is this good?” I wouldn't know. I never really watched men's sports. It's just not that exciting.
A third said: “That's pretty good for a man. Mary must be proud of him.
As for the player himself, Cleary has never denied rumors linking him to the British Super League and in an interview earlier this year he said he would be open to it later in his career.
“I'm not against it (the Super League move). I have a pretty open mind about this type of thing,” he said before the World Cup Challenge match.
“I think just being able to learn about different cultures and different experiences is something I enjoy doing. I'm not closed to this idea.
