- Cleary won the NRL premiership for the fourth time on Sunday
- Soon afterwards, his partner Mary Fowler had a dream day for Manchester City
- Even in the middle of celebrating the title, Cleary had a message for Fowler
He may have been entrenched in the celebrations for winning a fourth consecutive premiership, but Penrith Panthers star Nathan Cleary found the time to acknowledge his famous girlfriend’s own sporting achievements.
Cleary and Australian Matilda Mary Fowler have been an item since late in 2023, as exclusively revealed by Daily Mail Australia.
Following the Panthers’ historic win over the Melbourne Storm in the NRL decider, Fowler posted an image from the Manchester City changerooms in the UK wearing a Penrith jersey and simply posting ‘HIM’ to honour her boyfriend.
However hours later, the Matildas ace was carving out a fresh chapter in her own sporting story.
Fowler took full advantage of her opportunity to start for Manchester City in the absence of rested star striker Khadija Shaw, scoring one goal and laying on the other in the Women’s Super League contenders’ 2-0 win over West Ham.
Amidst the NRL premiership celebrations, Nathan Cleary found the time to share this image of girlfriend Mary Fowler
Fowler was given a rare start for Manchester City and made the most of her opportunity around the same time Cleary won the NRL trophy
Fowler’s chances of a starting berth for City have been limited with the WSL contenders enjoying so many attacking riches, but the 21-year-old was included after they decided to rest golden boot winner Shaw for the visit of Katrina Gorry-captained West Ham.
That gave Fowler the chance to demonstrate her dazzling ability once again up front, as she somehow managed to wheedle the ball through to Lauren Hemp in the 10th minute while surrounded by three defenders, enabling the England striker to ram home the first goal.
The 21-year-old added an image to her Instagram gallery that included the tribute to Cleary, celebrating with teammates and posting: ‘A good weekend indeed’.
And Cleary posted his own tribute, sharing the image of Fowler wearing the Penrith jersey to his social media with a simply smitten emoji for his high-profile sweetheart.
Cleary has now led the Penrith Panthers to four consecutive NRL premierships
Fowler also commented on Cleary’s post with this series of emojis to congratulate him
It has been an emotional ride for Cleary, who admitted after the grand final that the 2020 loss to the Melbourne Storm had still haunted him.
‘I actually lost for words. Five years ago – four or five years ago I was standing there crying and losing to these guys who have been the best for such a long time. [Now] we have just won four in a row. It is honestly mind blowing,’ he said after Sunday’s grand final win.
‘This feeling here it is all worth it. It is hard to reach the top, very hard to say there but this moment it is all worth it. It is honestly the best feeling in the world.’
But he also recently opened up about his relationship with Fowler, sharing that their love was just as emotional as any footy win.
‘I’ve loved it, it’s all I ever could have dreamed of in having a partner, to be honest,’ he said.
‘It’s just added new perspective but it’s also added an extra layer there that when things are going good you want to share with them and want to talk about it and when things aren’t going good, they’re there too.
‘Super supportive and I’ve absolutely loved it. It’s just a great addition to life to be honest and made me really happy.
‘Love wins.’
‘Nathan Cleary will undergosurgery
on his injured shoulder, with the No.7 ruled out of Australia’s Pacific Championships campaign.
