It’s been revealed how Nathan Cleary convinced his dad and coach Ivan to let him make a mad dash from Las Vegas to California for a heartwarming rendezvous with his partner Mary Fowler.
The Penrith halfback had his hands full with commitments for the NRL‘s Sin City footy festival, but somehow found the time to jet over to San Diego to spend time with the Matildas and Manchester City star.
Fowler was in town with the national team for their SheBelieves Cup clash with Colombia, which the South Americans won 2-1 to leave the Aussies in last place in the tournament.
‘He had a different week but at the end of the day he said it would make him play better, so let’s hope so,’ Ivan Cleary said.
Fowler certainly enjoyed the romantic gesture, later posting a photo of the couple enjoying some chilled drinks beside the beach in cold conditions, beaming from ear to ear.
She also shared an image of a sign on the beach that read ‘love you more’.
Nathan Cleary told his dad and coach Ivan that a quick trip to see Mary Fowler would make him play better in the season opener
Mary Fowler and Nathan Cleary were reunited in California just days before the NRL season kicks off in Las Vegas
‘The ‘love you more’ at the ocean is so cute,’ one follower commented.
‘Big fan of both of you,’ said another.
‘Lovely pictures,’ posted yet another.
Last week, Cleary spoke out about Marty Sheargold’s shocking comments about the Matildas, which have been condemned by everyone from past and present sports stars to the prime minister and saw the comedian sacked from his job with Triple M.
‘It’s pretty sad that people are still saying that sort of stuff,’ the four-time premiership winner told News Corp. ‘It’s just unnecessary.’
Cleary also all but ruled out making a shock sporting switch that could bring him together with Fowler in England.
Last year there was speculation that the Panthers lynchpin was open to the possibility of defecting to rugby union, which would put him on the radar of big, cashed-up English clubs who could pay him a fortune while he got to live far closer to Fowler.
Asked if a code switch would ever be on the cards, Cleary responded, ‘Not really, to be honest.
Fowler also posted this touching image after Cleary made a mad dash to be with her after a week of challenges
Cleary made the trip from Las Vegas to California to be with his girlfriend Mary Fowler despite his hectic schedule in the lead-up to the NRL season kickoff
Cleary, who is coming back from injury, will take the field on Sunday for the Panthers’ clash with the Sharks in Las Vegas
‘It’s something I’ve thought about but I don’t know, I’m really happy in league and it’s always been my passion.
‘It’s always been my love and it’s been something that I’ve grown up just adoring, to be honest … I think league’s the one for me.’
Cleary and Fowler are no strangers to making mad dashes over great distances to be with each other.
Their romance first came to light when he jetted over to Perth to watch her play for Australia against the Philippines in late 2023.
Cleary and Fowler were photographed cuddling in a park just a day later, with Daily Mail Australia’s exclusive pics confirming them as Aussie sport’s power couple.
When Penrith won last year’s grand final, he wasted no time getting to England to spend time with her, with the couple taking in the Super League grand final soon after he arrived.
Fowler has also made time for her man on her visits down under, reuniting with Cleary in Sydney in December 2023, seeing him again in the harbour city last August, then going on a road trip with her man over the Christmas/new year period.
Cleary and Fowler were joined by some of her family in Queensland as she enjoyed a winter break from her football commitments in the UK, with the pair sharing photos of their holiday with their followers on social media.
Penrith’s Las Vegas match against Cronulla will see the start of Cleary’s football life without his long-term halves partner Jarome Luai, who has moved to the Wests Tigers.
Coach Ivan Cleary named Jack Cole as the Wests Tigers recruit’s replacement at five-eighth, opting not to risk Blaize Talagi following the new signing’s off-season shoulder surgery.
Cleary was hopeful Cole, an understudy for himself and Luai last season, would put up a fight to keep the five-eighth jersey even after Talagi recovered.
‘I think he has, he’s proven that through the pre-season, that’s why he’s starting at six,’ Cleary said.
Cleary stayed later than any other Panthers player at the club’s signing session at Las Vegas’s Resorts World, where hundreds of travelling fans assembled on Thursday morning.
‘I came down for breakfast this morning, this was two hours before (the signing session) had even started, and there was already a massive line,’ Cleary said.
‘It’s pretty awesome to see. I never could’ve imagined this.’