Rugby league legend Matt Johns has sparked debate with a provocative theory about Nathan Cleary’s long-term future with the Panthers following Dylan Brown’s historic mega-deal with Newcastle.
Brown’s 10-year contract, worth $1.3 million per season, has sparked conversations about which other players could command similar paydays on long-term deals, with Cleary at the top of the list.
Widely regarded as the best halfback in the NRL, Cleary has achieved near mythical status in Penrith after leading the club to four consecutive premierships.
Johns said if he were in charge he’d offer the 27-year-old a lucrative 10-year deal, but added that the final years could be in a coaching capacity before moving to a full-time coaching role.
The superstar would be nearly 40 by the end of the deal, but Johns says it would basically make him a Panther for life.
‘If I owned the club, this is what I’d do and it would have been the same with Cameron Smith,’ Johns told SEN radio.
What I mean with Nathan is that if something happened with Ivan and he said, “Look, I can’t coach for the rest of this season, I’ve got a bit going on”… I’m telling you Nathan could step straight in and coach that side.
‘So with Nathan it’s a no-brainer. I’d offer Nathan a 10-year deal of which seven or eight of that would be playing and rolling on in the last few years into a coaching role, with the view of him being a head coach four or five years after he retires.
‘So you’re signing him on essentially for life.’
Last year, there were rumours that Cleary was seeking an exit from Penrith to move to the UK Super League, where he can be closer to England-based girlfriend Mary Fowler.
Fowler, who plays as a striker for the Matildas, is contracted to Manchester City and the couple have been in a long-distance relationship since their romance was first revealed by Daily Mail Australia in November 2023.
NRL boss Andrew Abdo used Fowler as a bargaining chip when he recently suggested her heritage could inspire superstar Nathan Cleary to become the marquee signing of the league’s new PNG franchise.
The Australian Rugby League Commission recently confirmed PNG will enter the NRL in 2028 in a momentous move backed by an impressive $600million investment from the federal government.
Cleary’s current contract with the Penrith Panthers expires in 2027, aligning perfectly with the new team’s timeline.
Abdo believes Fowler, whose mother Nido hails from Kira Kira in Port Moresby, may be a decisive factor in drawing Cleary to lead the fledgling franchise.
Fowler once proudly declared she was ‘so proud to be Papuan,’ showing her deep connection to her heritage.
In a candid Hello Sport podcast interview, Abdo revealed: ‘It could be something that plays out in the future as something really exciting.
‘It’s like I was talking about earlier, it captivates people.
‘There will be a lot of people that are Mary Fowler fans that now are interested in rugby league.
‘There’s a lot of people who know nothing about sport who are interested in the romance between the two.
‘And obviously if Nathan was playing for PNG down the track, that would be pretty interesting as well.’
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