The pitter patter of little Panther paws could be coming to Penrith in the near future, if champion halfback Nathan Cleary’s telling comment about settling down and having a family on a recent podcast is anything to go by.
Fresh off Penrith’s historic fourth straight NRL premiership, the Panthers playmaker sat down alongside his father and coach Ivan Cleary to speak with Australian business guru Mark Bouris on his podcast Straight Talk.
While the Wizard Home Loans founder pressed Cleary about his business decisions and setting himself up for life, he couldn’t help delving into his romance with Manchester City and Matildas star Mary Fowler as well.
Bouris asked Cleary about his investment in Sydney brewery Drink West with Aussie UFC stars Tyson Pedro and Tai Tuivasa as he questioned the star on whether he was starting to think about setting himself up for life after footy.
‘I’ve been thinking about it more, particularly this year with injuries, I’ve had a lot of time to myself to think,’ Cleary replied.
‘You just think it’s going to go forever and then you have a few injuries and you’re out of the game.
‘You sort of realise this isn’t going to last forever.
‘I reckon this is the first year I have probably really thought about post footy and what that looks like for me.
‘It’s been an interesting journey. It’s one that I am excited about.
‘I know it’s a fair way away, well I hope it’s a fair way away yet, but the thing I am excited about is a new passion, something that 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’ podcast Straight Talk after the NRL grand final
Bouris pressed Nathan on his relationship with Matildas star Mary Fowler and whether they intended to have children together
Nathan’s response to Bouris’ line of questioning about Fowler led to a very telling comment about their future together
Bouris then started talking about the need to think ahead once Cleary had hung up the boots, and added that his 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’ve got to keep the Cleary name going,’ Bouris said.
‘Absolutely,’ Cleary replied emphatically.
‘Have maybe just one kid, just sport out of it all,’ Bouris said as they both laughed.
‘It could be a soccer player,’ Cleary laughed.
‘It could be, why not?’ Bouris replied.
‘I tell you what would be good, if there is a girl or a boy it would be a good kicker. They would be able to kick a ball.’
Ivan Cleary replied: ‘You would like to think so.’
Fowler was unable to attend the NRL grand final because Manchester City’s season had started, but she showed her support from afar by wearing Nathan’s jersey during the big game
Cleary is currently in England visiting Fowler and was spotted at Old Trafford on Saturday alongside Fowler supporting Hull KR.
Earlier in the conversation, Cleary revealed that he had fallen for Fowler before he had even met her.
The couple famously met at an Adidas event because they are both ambassadors for the sporting brand and the rest is history.
Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed the couple were an item when Cleary jetted 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 that he had his eye on the Manchester City star before they crossed paths at the ADIDAS event.
‘I’d known of her for a little bit,’ he said.
‘Then I sort of knew that she was going to be there that night and I was a bit like, I hope that our paths cross.’
His dad then quipped, ‘You were stalking’.
‘No I wasn’t stalking,’ Cleary said as Bouris cracked up laughing.
‘We were both pretty shy, though,’ Cleary continued.
‘So it was nothing crazy at the start. And then she was here for the World Cup so got to know each other a little bit.’
Bouris then pressed, ‘If the two of you get together and, I don’t know, get married or whatever and you in the house together, you’re going to have to get a big house.’
‘Because the number of boxes of ADIDAS, you’re going to have to have three rooms for it.’