NRL: Luke Keary joins Paul Crawley and Lara Pitt to preview the 2026 Newcastle Knights, and discuss where their new recruits will fit in with the team.
Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler are Australian sporting superstars on the field and a power couple off. And despite being kept apart as they play at the highest levels of their individual codes on opposite sides of the world, the NRL legend-in-the-making and Matildas hero couldn’t be happier after recently spending rare time together.
Watch the 2026 NRL Pre-season series plus the All-Star matches LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports |WHAT'S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au. They have been together since mid-2023 and have made the relationship work despite the tyranny of distance. Cleary, 28, stayed in the UK after playing for the Kangaroos in the rugby league Ashes series late last year while Fowler, 22, was undergoing rehab for an ACL injury with her English Women’s Super League club Manchester City. And it was the first time they actually got to spend proper time together away from the intense Sydney spotlight.“I was based in Manchester because that’s where Mary is. She was training at the time and I didn’t want to leave too often,” Cleary told NewsWire.“I think the nicest thing about it is that it brought a lot of peace which is needed in the off-season.”He said spending time with Fowler in the UK where he was less well known was a bonus, the extended break – which included side trips to the US, Europe and New Zealand – helped ready him for the challenges of 2026. “I got over to America, did a little bit of Europe and got to go to Queenstown, where we went hiking when we got back,” Cleary said.“It was probably the first time I had the chance to reflect on where I’m at, where I’ve come from and where I want to go. “By the end of it, I was keen to get back into training and my routine. I felt that drive return and the joy to want to come back and get ready for the season.”It’s easy to focus on Cleary’s relationship with Fowler, but that wouldn’t do either of their careers the justice they deserve – or their ambitions for 2026. Cleary is looking to avenge last year’s heartbreak at failing to help the Penrith Panthers win a fifth consecutive NRL premiership, while Fowler is aiming to return from injury in time for a major event on home soil. Fowler continues to recover from the ACL tear she suffered last year, with the Matildas superstar hoping to return at the women’s Asian Cup that begins in Australia in March. Fowler hopes to play for the Matildas in the Asian Cup in Australia in March after suffering an ACL injury last year. Picture: Matt King/Getty ImagesCleary said it “wasn’t ideal” when told that he has a game in Bathurst on March 14 when the Matildas will likely play in Sydney if they top their group, but he was just excited to see Fowler returning to full fitness.“With such a long rehab, you don’t want to rush it when it gets to the end. She’s done her due diligence and she’s not far off, so I’m excited for her.” Fowler’s goal will be to play and win the tournament, but it’s not as easy to get a read on what Cleary wants to achieve in 2026.Cleary, who marks 10 years in the NRL this year, has crammed more into his footy than anyone could have imagined when he made his debut Since then, he’s won four premierships, a World Cup, several State of Origin series, has matured as a man – and began his relationship with Fowler. When you consider all the wild and wacky things that have happened over the past decade, it’s easy to gloss over the fact that Cleary made his NRL debut way back in 2016 and has gone on to forge one of the greatest NRL careers of all time. Donald Trump won two elections in that period, the world was rocked by the coronavirus, the Chicago Cubs ended their historic drought to win the World Series and Neighbours was axed, renewed and then axed again.Cleary entered the league as a teenager with plenty of potential who was forced to make a mountain of tackles on debut against the Melbourne Storm on June 4. Cleary isn’t one to reflect on things while they’re still happening, but an old interview he did showed him how far he’d come and how he could see his younger brother Jett in his old self. He’s back at training with the new season just a few weeks away, with Cleary ready to kick off the second decade of what’s already been an all-time career.Cleary is a long-time Manchester United fan, with the legendary English Premier League side’s home ground Old Trafford often referred to as the Theatre of Dreams. It’s somewhat fitting that a replay of Fox League’s Fox Theatre 2021 grand final review reminded the Panthers halfback just how far he’d come on and off the field.“I’m not too big on reflecting while I’m in it, but this off-season has given me the time to reflect on where I’ve come from but also where I can get better and how I can improve. “You think back to 10 years when I first started playing, and I was a totally different player. I was very shy and within myself. “Gradually, as I’ve gotten older, those traits have stayed, but I’ve added a bow to it each year and tried to get better, especially as a leader where I’ve tried to become more vocal. “It was just the other day that I was watching a replay from after we’d won the ’21 grand final. It was that thing where you sit down and you watch the game back. “The way I spoke in that, it probably doesn’t seem that different to other people, but it did seem different to me. I actually saw a lot of my younger brother Jett in how I was speaking, which was weird. “It shows that I’ve developed as a person, particularly over these last two or three years where I’ve matured into the person I want to be. There’s still a long way to go, but off the field I’ve certainly matured and will continue to do so.”For a man who’s done so much, the upcoming season still offers a lot with Penrith keen to bounce back after they had their four-year premiership run snapped, while Cleary also has a World Cup and State of Origin redemption on the horizon. Cleary was shattered after the Panthers lost the NRL preliminary final match against the Brisbane Broncos, who went on to win the premiership. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images“I’ve never really been a massive goal-setter in terms of writing it down and checking them off,” he said.“I’ve come back into pre-season and I feel really good. I feel hungry for what’s ahead. “There are things that I know that I want to be a part of and get done, but it’s about setting the foundation first with a strong pre-season.” It’s a scary thought for his rivals because unlike Trump, Cleary has at least four more years of ruling the world as the best footy player of his generation.Before his chat with the NewsWire, Cleary spent time with local fans and took photos with them following a gruelling training session in the Penrith heat. That willingness to give back to the community has been there from the start for a man who is proud of his upbringing and has a massive mural up high on a building next to Kingswood station. Cleary and other athletes don’t do charity work for the attention, but it was great to see his efforts brought to light late last year when he was spotted helping out the Atherton and Leigh Foodbank in the UK.“It’s just a good reminder that we’re in such a privileged position, and it’s sometimes easy to forget that,” he said, with Cleary in Manchester at the time following the 3-0 Ashes victory with the Kangaroos. “There are obviously a lot of people doing it tougher, so any time you can give back, I always make sure I try to do what I can. “That one in the UK happened in a unique way. I was eating lunch by myself in a restaurant, and then a guy came up to me and asked for a photo.“A bit later, he said that he was doing volunteer work and asked if I wanted to come down, and I said ‘yes’. “There are so many people who aren’t in the public eye that are doing this volunteer work who go unnoticed and don’t get the plaudits they deserve.
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