NRL legend fears Nathan Cleary could defect to rugby union to be closer to girlfriend Mary Fowler

Cash-strapped British rugby clubs could be sharpening their pencils to sign NRL superstar Nathan Cleary, with one NRL amid major fears he will defect to move closer to Mary Fowler.

Mary and Nathan began their relationship in late 2023, as exclusively revealed by Daily Mail Australia.

Since then, they have become Australia’s top sporting duo and have received thousands of comments from football and rugby league fans through their social media posts.

This led to rumors that Cleary could join the English Super League in 2025 to be closer to his partner who plays for Manchester City in the Women’s Super League, but the Panthers quickly dismissed these claims.

However, Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary recently revealed his son will postpone the operation so he can fly to Britain and spend time with Fowler.

“He’s going abroad to see Mary, and then he’ll sort it out,” Ivan said at the club’s awards ceremony on Tuesday.

This has once again started the rumor mill suggesting Cleary could join the UK Super League, having already claimed a record four consecutive NRL premierships with the Panthers.

Cleary travels to Britain in the off-season to visit his girlfriend Mary Fowler

Fowler was unable to attend the NRL grand final but sent her message of support from the sheds of Manchester City

Either way, NRL great and television personality Matty Johns doesn’t like the idea of ​​Cleary being displayed in the storefronts of British rugby clubs looking to poach him.

“My only fear with Nathan is that he goes to England and puts him in quite the spotlight, or he finds himself in the backyard of these big French rugby clubs and European rugby clubs,” Johns said on his SEN program Morning Glory with Matty on Friday Johns. .

“And there would be the temptation (to poach him). Some of them (rugby clubs) would probably want to make a bid sooner or later, that’s the only thing I would worry about.”

Johns has first-hand experience, having seen 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 great reputation internationally, such as in European rugby and Andrew (Johns) was one of them,” Johns said.

“There was always the temptation to lure Andrew into rugby to take on Jonny Wilkinson.”

NRL legend Matty Johns has warned British rugby clubs could benefit from Nathan Cleary’s visit to England

Former Wallaby Peter Fitzsimons has urged rugby clubs to sign Cleary while he is in Britain visiting Mary Fowler

Meanwhile, former Wallaby and Fairfax columnist Peter FitzSimons is once again urging British rugby clubs to seize the opportunity and sign Cleary while he is under their noses.

‘It would be ideal if we at the Rugby Union could take Nathan Cleary off our hands for about three years, giving him a taste of a real world stage, and place him on the London/Paris/Buenos Aires circuit. then Cronulla/Campbelltown/Canberra, as beautiful as those towns are,” he wrote in his SMH column.

That would also make it easier to see his partner Mary Fowler, and give him a break from the brutal physical toll of the competition.

‘Do you understand? The NRL comp is freed up for a nice change so others can win, the Wallabies can suddenly be competitive again and Cleary gets to show his wares far from the parish pump. What’s not to like?’

In an attempt to calm the Cleary down on the UK rumours, Penrith Panthers boss Brian Fletcher has told fans there must be a counter-move to bring Mary back to Australia.

“Last year I said on the radio that if we win in ’23, we’ll definitely win in ’24 and ’25,” Fletcher said. ‘So don’t be afraid of next year. We also still have ’26 and ’27 to go.

‘And why I say that is that Ivan Cleary and Nathan Cleary are signed until the end of ’27.

“It is my job and the CEO of football, Matt Cameron, to extend that as far as possible.

“It’s also Matt’s job to get Mary back to Australia.”

Fowler supporters have hit out at suggestions she should make for the sake of Cleary’s career in a series of mocking posts online.

“It’s great that her boyfriend has a hobby,” one supporter cheekily posted.

Another said: ‘That’s right, okay? I wouldn’t know. I’ve never actually 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 man himself, Cleary has never debunked the rumors linking him to the British Super League and said in an interview earlier this year that he would be open to it later in his career.

‘I’m not against it [a Super League move]. I’m quite open to things like that,” he said ahead of the World Cup Challenge match.

‘I think experiencing different cultures and different experiences is something I enjoy doing. I’m not closed to that idea.’