The patter of Panther’s little paws could be coming to Penrith in the near future, if champion runner Nathan Cleary’s insightful comment about settling down and having a family in a recent podcast is anything to go by.
Fresh off Penrith’s historic fourth consecutive NRL premiership, the Panthers playmaker sat down alongside his father and coach Ivan Cleary to speak to Australian business guru Mark Bouris on his podcast. Speak out.
While the Wizard Home Loans founder pressed Cleary on his business decisions and how to prepare for life, he couldn’t help but delve into his romance with Manchester City and also Matildas star Mary Fowler.
Bouris asked Cleary about his investment in Sydney brewery Drink West with Australian UFC stars Tyson Pedro and Tai Tuivasa while He asked the star if he was starting to think about preparing for his life after football.
“I’ve been thinking about it more, especially this year with the injuries, I’ve had a lot of time to think,” Cleary responded.
“You just think this is going to last forever and then you get some injuries and you’re out of the game.
‘In a way you realize that this is not going to last forever.
“I think this is the first year I’ve really thought about post-football and what that means to me.
‘It has been an interesting journey. It’s something that excites me.
“I know there’s still a long way to go, well I hope it’s still pretty far away, but what excites me is a new passion, something you can put your time and effort into.” We’ll see when we get there.
Nathan Cleary and his father and coach Ivan Cleary appeared on Mark Bouris’ Straight Talk podcast after the NRL grand final.
Bouris pressed Nathan about his relationship with Matildas star Mary Fowler and whether they intended to have children together.
Nathan’s response to Bouris’ questions about Fowler led to a very revealing comment about their future together.
Bouris then began talking about the need to think about the future once Cleary had hung up his boots, adding that their romance could change his long-term plans.
“Having a girl you’re interested in too, you’re probably starting to have thoughts like, for one day, I have to keep the name Cleary,” Bouris said.
“Absolutely,” Cleary responded emphatically.
“Maybe I just have a son and, above all, sports,” Bouris said as they both laughed.
“I could be a football player,” Cleary laughed.
‘Could be, why not?’ Bouris responded.
‘I tell them what would be good, if there is a girl or boy it would be a good kicker. “They would be able to kick a ball.”
Ivan Cleary replied: “You’d like to think so.”
Fowler was unable to attend the NRL grand final because Manchester City’s season had started, but he showed his support from afar by wearing Nathan’s jersey during the big game.
Cleary is currently in England visiting Fowler and was seen at Old Trafford on Saturday alongside Fowler supporting Hull KR.
Early in the conversation, Cleary revealed that he had fallen in love with Fowler before he even met her.
The couple met at an Adidas event because they are both ambassadors for the sports brand and the rest is history.
Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed the pair were a couple when Cleary traveled across the country to be with Fowler during the Matildas’ stay in Perth for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
But Cleary has now revealed he had his eye on the Manchester City star before they crossed paths at the ADIDAS event.
“I’d known her for a while,” he said.
“So I knew she would be there that night and I thought, I hope our paths cross.”
Then his father joked, “You were bullying.”
“No, I wasn’t harassing,” Cleary said as Bouris burst out laughing.
“We were both pretty shy, though,” Cleary continued.
“So at first it wasn’t anything crazy. And then he was here for the World Cup, so we got to know each other a little bit.”
Then Bouris insisted: ‘If you two get together and, I don’t know, get married or whatever and are in the house together, you’re going to have to get a big house.’
“Due to the number of ADIDAS boxes, you will have to have three rooms for it.”