Nathan Cleary cheers on girlfriend Mary Fowler from the stands as the Matildas forward stars in Man City’s 2-1 WSL victory vs Aston Villa

Fresh from clinching Penrith’s fourth consecutive premiership title, Nathan Cleary is enjoying a trip to Europe to spend some time with his girlfriend Mary Fowler.

It appears Cleary will postpone surgery on his troublesome shoulder injury until he returns to Australia, with the halfback flown to Britain a week ago.

In that time he has been very busy catching up with his girlfriend Fowler, who helped Manchester City to a 2-1 win against Aston Villa at the Joie Stadium on Sunday.

The Australian sporting power couple have been enjoying some time together and were photographed at Old Trafford a week ago watching the Super League Grand Final between Wigan and Hull Kingston Rovers.

Fowler also shared a photo of Cleary on her Instagram in recent days, showing the Penrith star looking through a camera with the lens cap still on.

“Beautiful photo babes,” Fowler captioned the photo.

Fowler has had a busy week at Man City of late, with the Matildas star heading to Vienna for City’s Women’s Champions League win against St. Polten last week.

The 21-year-old has made a serious impression for City, scoring two goals in all competitions so far this season.

And today, Cleary showed up in the stands at Joie Stadium to cheer on his girlfriend.

The NRL star is currently on holiday in Britain with girlfriend Fowler

Fowler (left) starred as Man City’s women defeated Aston Villa 2-1 in Manchester on Sunday afternoon

The Panthers star shared a photo to his Instagram Story showing Fowler playing for Man City.

City would show their resilience to come back from a goal down, with second-half goals from Lauren Hemp and Jill Roord keeping Gareth Taylor’s side three points clear of rivals Manchester United at the top of the WSL.

Cleary, meanwhile, recently poured cold water on rumors linking him to a departure from the Panthers. Some reports claimed that he could move to Europe to be closer to his partner Fowler.

But the NRL star, whose contract with the Panthers expires in 2027, claimed he had no plans to leave the club anytime soon.

It comes after former Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan claimed the Wallabies should try to poach Cleary from the Panthers by offering him a large sum of money.

Joseph Suaalii recently made the call to exchange codes, and McLennan believes Rugby Australia should do the same with Cleary.

‘Joseph [Suaalii] has already generated a huge interest in rugby union and has paid for itself time and time again,” said McLennan SMH.

“He is a global rugby superstar before he has even pulled on a Wallaby jersey and will be a great role model for aspiring young players.

‘The Wallabies’ decades of underperformance mean they need investment at the top end to generate value in sponsorship, media rights and crowd pullers. We haven’t won a World Cup since 1999, and a Bledisloe Cup for 23 years, so you don’t need more evidence that the system needs to be overhauled and centralised.’

Last week, Fowler posted a photo of her and Cleary drinking coffee and made fun of her boyfriend

Cleary recently threw cold water on speculation linking him with a move to Europe

McLennan wants the NRL recruitment drive to continue and is urging rugby to open the checkbook for Panthers playmaker Nathan Cleary.

“I’d take a shot at people like Nathan Cleary and a few others,” he said.

‘The match needs five more Josephs as a World Cup for ’27 [to be played in Australia] is just around the corner and the clock is ticking… Thank God for Joseph because that’s all anyone is talking about.

‘Australia is number 10 in the world [rankings] and needs an injection of talent, otherwise there will be nothing left to sell.’