The banter 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 starting a family on a recent podcast is anything to go by.
Fresh off Penrith’s historic fourth consecutive NRL premiership, the Panthers playmaker sat down next to his father and coach Ivan Cleary to speak to Australian business guru Mark Bouris on his podcast Straight talk.
As the Wizard Home Loans founder pressed Cleary over his business decisions and set himself up for life, he couldn’t resist also delving into his romance with Manchester City and Matildas star Mary Fowler.
Bouris asked Cleary about his investment in Sydney brewery Drink West with Aussie UFC stars Tyson Pedro and Tai Tuivasa as he asked the star if he was starting to think about life after football.
“I’ve been thinking about it more, especially this year with injuries. I’ve had a lot of time to myself to think,” Cleary replied.
“You just think it’s going to take forever and then you have a few injuries and you’re out of the game.
‘You do realize that this won’t last forever.
“I think this is the first year I’ve really thought about post-footy and what that looks like to me.
‘It was an interesting journey. It’s one I’m excited about.
“I know it’s a long way off, well I hope it’s still a long way off, but what I’m excited about 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 planned to have children together
Nathan’s response to Bouris’ questions about Fowler led to a telling comment about their future together
Bouris then started talking about the need to think ahead once Cleary tied the knot, adding that his romance could change his long-term plans.
“Now that you have a girl you’re also interested in, you’re probably starting to have thoughts like, for one day, I have to keep the Cleary name alive,” Bouris said.
“Absolutely,” Cleary replied emphatically.
“Maybe only have one kid, just enjoy it,” Bouris said as they both laughed.
“It could be a football player,” Cleary laughed.
“That could be possible, why not?” replied Bouris.
“I’m telling you what would be good, if there’s a girl or a boy, it would be a good kicker. They could kick a ball.”
Ivan Cleary replied, “You’d like to think so.”
Fowler was unable to attend the NRL grand final as 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 as a Hull KR supporter.
Earlier in the conversation, Cleary revealed that he had fallen for Fowler before even meeting her.
The couple met at a famous Adidas event as they are both ambassadors for the sports brand and the rest is history.
Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed the couple were an item when Cleary flew across the country to be with Fowler during the Matildas’ stay in Perth for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
But Cleary has now revealed he had his eye on the Manchester City star before they crossed paths at the ADIDAS event.
“I knew her for a while,” he said.
“Then I kind of knew she was going to be there that night and I kind of thought, I hope our paths cross.”
His father then joked: “You were stalking.”
“No, I wasn’t stalking,” Cleary said as Bouris burst out laughing.
“But we were both quite shy,” Cleary continued.
‘So it was nothing crazy at first. And then she was here for the World Cup, so they got to know each other a little bit.”
Bouris then insisted, “If you guys get together and, I don’t know, get married or whatever and you live in the house together, you’re going to have to buy a big house.”
‘Because of the number of boxes of ADIDAS you will need three rooms for it.’