‘Bring Mary back’: Mary Fowler key to Nathan Cleary extension
The speculation surrounding the future of Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler continues to grow with one comment pouring fuel on the fire.
NRL
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In the midst of their fourth straight NRL premiership celebrations, the Panthers have come up with a fresh approach to keeping Nathan and Ivan Cleary in Penrith long-term.
The Panthers put down a marker as potentially the best team ever when they overcame Melbourne for a fourth consecutive title on Sunday.
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They are the first team of the modern era to achieve that feat and Penrith chief executive Brian Fletcher believes their run is far from done.
The Cleary father and son are signed through the 2027 season and the club has proven it can rebound from the loss of other significant pieces provided that duo is in tow.
Speaking at a premiership function at Panthers Leagues Club, Fletcher said the wheels are in motion to extend those contracts, including a left-field idea.
“Last year on radio I said if we win in ‘23, we’ll definitely win in ‘24 and ‘25,” Fletcher told the crowd. “So don’t be afraid of next year.
“We’ve also got ‘26 and ‘27 to go.
“And why I say that is, Ivan Cleary and Nathan Cleary are signed until the end of ‘27.
“It’s my job and the CEO of football, Matt Cameron, to extend that as far as we can.
“Matt’s job also is he’s got to bring Mary back to Australia.”
“Mary”, of course, is Nathan Cleary’s high-profile girlfriend, Matildas star Mary Fowler.
It emerged on Wednesday that Nathan is delaying surgery on his troublesome shoulder to spend some time with Fowler in England while she represents Manchester City.
Fletcher’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment and those three words ‘bring Mary back’ come in the wake of reports Nathan was considering a season in the UK Super League, so he could spend more time with the 21-year-old goalscorer.
The remark is sure to keep the rumour mill surrounding the future of the couple spinning for weeks on end.
Convincing Fowler to return to Australia to play would mitigate that possibility, although the Women’s A-League is a far cry from the level of competition and financial rewards available in the Women’s Super League and Champions League in Europe.
Now that Cleary and Fowler’s once-secretive relationship is well and truly out in the open, the pair are relishing some playful moments on social media.
In her latest post on Instagram to her 436,000 followers, Fowler posted photos of her goalscoring effort in a 2-0 league win over West Ham, which came on the same day the Panthers beat the Storm.
“A good weekend indeed,” Fowler caption the post, which was capped by a pic of a beaming Fowler wearing a Panthers shirt in the City dressing room.
She also captioned an Instagram story featuring Cleary with the Provan-Summons Trophy “Him”, along with love heart eyes and fire emojis.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary spilled the beans on his son’s getaway, speaking from the club’s Merv Cartwright Medal presentation night.
The proud dad said the surgery on the shoulder issue Nathan carried throughout the finals series will be delayed a “couple weeks”, with reports the intended surgeon himself is on holidays.
“He’s heading overseas to see Mary, spend some time with her, and then he’ll get it done,” Ivan told 7News.
“(There was) a little bit of work today to see who needs surgery and whatnot. We’ve got some guys picked in rep teams which is always exciting, so good times.”
With Cleary booked in for surgery, Dylan Edwards, Isaah Yeo, Lindsay Smith and Liam Martin were the Panthers named in Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga’s team on Monday.
Brilliant playmaker Cleary suffered the shoulder injury in Round 24, but managed to get himself back on the field for the club’s three most important matches of the year.
Fowler and Cleary, 26, went public with their relationship in April but have been seeing each other since November last year.
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Originally published as ‘Bring Mary back’: Mary Fowler key to Nathan Cleary extension
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