- There have been persistent rumors linking Cleary to the United Kingdom.
- The Panthers star attended the Super League grand final
All eyes are on Nathan Cleary in England due to persistent rumors linking him with a move to the UK to be with his girlfriend Mary Fowler, and now an English rugby league great has added fuel to the fire.
Cleary is currently in Britain to visit Fowler, who plays for Manchester City.
The pair were invited to the Super League grand final between Hull KR and eventual champions Wigan Warriors last weekend.
The playmaker has won four consecutive NRL titles with the Penrith Panthers, and the club recently had to shoot down speculation over a one-year loan deal with Super League so Cleary could be closer to Fowler.
Now Wigan Warriors club legend and chief executive Kris Radlinski has warned that any move by Cleary from Penrith would cause a frenzy among UK clubs.
“He’s obviously the best player in the world, what he’s done for many years is extraordinary, and to have him there on Saturday night at Old Trafford was fantastic,” Radlinski told Sky Sports News.
I’m sure he saw the opportunity and a part of him liked it. If Nathan’s name appears on the market, everyone would try to sign him.
“I feel quite comfortable with the team we have at the moment, but it would certainly be fantastic for the Super League.”
Wigan Warriors club legend and chief executive Kris Radlinski (pictured) said all Super League clubs would be interested in signing Cleary if he left Penrith.
Cleary was at the Super League grand final supporting Hull KR during their defeat to Wigan Warriors last weekend (pictured)
The Panthers star is in England to visit his girlfriend Mary Fowler (pictured together at the Super League grand final)
The Super League clubs are not the only ones closely monitoring the situation.
The rugby club is thriving in the UK and NRL champion and media personality Matthew Johns fears the rival code could launch big-money bids to lure Cleary to the UK.
“My only fear with Nathan is that going to England will put him in the spotlight or basically be right in the backyard of these big French and European rugby clubs,” Johns said on his SEN show Morning Glory with Matty Johns on Friday. . .
‘And there would be a temptation (to poach him). “Some of them (rugby clubs) would probably look to make an offer sooner rather than later, that’s the only thing I would worry about.”
Johns saw first-hand the influence of UK club rugby in the late 90s and early 2000s, when his brother and NRL immortal Andrew Johns were offered huge contracts to defect to the 15-man code.
“There have been times in our game where our players have had a great reputation internationally, such as in European rugby, and Andrew was one of them,” Johns said.
“There was always a temptation to lure Andrew into rugby to take on Jonny Wilkinson.”
Rumors linking Cleary with a move to the UK have become stronger as her relationship with Fowler continues to blossom.
Former Wallaby turned newspaper columnist Peter FitzSimons has actively called on rugby to capture Cleary while he is right under their noses.
“The best thing might be if we in rugby union could get Nathan Cleary off our backs for about three years, which could give him a taste of a genuine world stage, and put him on the London/Paris/Buenos Aires circuit rather than Cronulla/Campbelltown/Canberra, as nice as those towns are,” he wrote in his SMH column.
“That would also make it easier to see his teammate Mary Fowler and give him a break from the brutal physical toll of the league.
‘Get it? The NRL competition is freed up for others to win which is a nice change, the Wallabies could suddenly be competitive again and Cleary can show his wares away from the parish bomb. What do you not like?
Cleary himself has also not dispelled the rumors linking him with an eventual move to the United Kingdom.
‘I’m not against (a move in the Super League). “I’m pretty open-minded about that kind of thing,” he said earlier this year.
‘I think just being able to experience different cultures and different experiences is something I enjoy doing. I’m not closed to that idea.