Nathan Cleary’s three-word post is terrifying for NRL rivals

Nathan Cleary’s latest loved up snaps with Mary Fowler came with a message that should terrify the Panthers star’s NRL rivals.

NRL, consider yourself warned.

Penrith’s rugby league rivals might be entering 2025 thinking they’re half a chance of breaking the Panthers’ stranglehold on the competition.

Jarome Luai has joined the Wests Tigers, gun prop James Fisher-Harris is off to the Warriors and surely the motivation levels will take a dip after winning four premierships in a row.

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The Panthers have also moved to shut down rumours Cleary, 27, will eventually head to the Super League to be closer to his girlfriend, Matildas and Manchester City star Mary Fowler, 21.

But it would seem Cleary isn’t going anywhere. The power couple have shared some candid happy snaps from a holiday to Cairns and Hayman Island in the Whitsundays.

The star footballers posted some loved up photos from their break in the tropical location.

Fowler shared a photo dump to Instagram with the caption “the cute holiday pics he took”, including a close up pic of her enjoying a coffee, and plenty of photos of the couple in holiday mode you can see in the video above.

Cleary looked rested standing among the palm trees and lying on a hammock.

He posted a photo with a sunset in the background, simply captioned: “Batteries are charged.” Fowler replied: “He be looking fine.”

Mary Fowler living her best life on holiday. Photo: Instagram.

Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler on holiday in the Whitsundays. Photo: Instagram.

That’s a scary message to the rest of the NRL if Cleary is feel refreshed and motivated.

The Melbourne Storm will once again be contenders for the premiership, while many pundits are expecting the Brisbane Broncos to bounce back in a big way under new coach Michael Maguire and with new recruit Ben Hunt.

Cleary will surely be an NRL Immortal one day, but there are still a couple of things he is yet to tick off in his career.

One minor criticism of the halfback is he is yet to dominate a State of Origin series like Andrew Johns did.

He has missed most of the past two series due to hamstring injuries, with Parramatta’s Mitchell Moses in the No. 7 jersey as NSW won an Origin decider in Queensland for just the third time in 2024.

Cleary also hasn’t won a Dally M Medal in his career. Injuries, State of Origin duties and the consistency of his teammates Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards might yet deny him the chance of winning an award Johnathan Thurston claimed four times.

The footy power couple spent some quality time together. Photo: Instagram.

Cleary said his batteries were recharged. Photo: Instagram

Despite playing on opposite sides of the world, Cleary and Fowler have made a concerted effort to see each other when they can.

Fowler opted out of selection for four Matildas friendlies against Brazil and Chinese Tapei late last year as she took time out to mentally recover.

“Playing for the national team is something that I never take for granted,” Fowler said.

“It’s an incredible honour to represent Australia every time I put the jersey on.

“I have, however, through past experiences, come to realise that my mind and my body are also things that I should also never take for granted.

“Over the past few months, playing with an increasingly demanding schedule has been both exciting but at times also challenging.

“I love being able to play at the top level of my sport, but recognising that sometimes my mind and body also need to rest has been an invaluable lesson for me.

“Therefore, I’ve decided to take this time to prioritise recovery in order to refresh both mentally and physically, so that I can continue to put my best self forward for both club and country. I really appreciate everyone’s support and understanding, and I hope to see you all soon.”

Nathan Cleary is feeling recharged after winning four premierships in a row. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Cleary recently opened up about his relationship with Fowler, saying doing long-distance has been a challenge, but the pair have made it work.

“It’s been tough, it’s definitely not something that I ever thought I’d do. I think it sort of helped for us that as soon as we met each other, and we sort of got talking, we knew it was going to lead down to that path and if we wanted to do it, it was going to be long distance,” Cleary said on the Keegan and Company podcast.

While they deal with the challenge of living apart, Cleary revealed he has thought about the future and starting a family with the Manchester City star.

“It’s obviously tough that we are both pretty stuck into our sport … definitely want to in the future. I’d love for it to be with Mary. I just think she’d be the best mother, but yeah, we’ll see.

“It’s not a rush at the moment but definitely in the future … post footy, I would love to have a little family of my own.”

After spending some time with Fowler in the UK, Cleary has since undergone shoulder surgery and is ready for pre-season with the Panthers.

Mary Fowler has impressed this season for Manchester City. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Fowler’s Manchester City last played on December 19 with their next fixture scheduled for January 13, allowing the Aussie star to enjoy a well deserved midseason break.

Manchester City currently sit second on the Women’s Super League ladder, six points behind reigning champions Chelsea.

City is still alive in the women’s FA Cup and Champion’s League.

Meanwhile, fellow Aussie superstar Sam Kerr has rejoined Chelsea at the team’s midseason training camp in Portugal in a positive step in her return from an ACL injury.

Chelsea have said Kerr is not training with the squad but is continuing with her recovery program.

Originally published as Nathan Cleary’s three-word post is terrifying for NRL rivals