Nathan Cleary in lovely moment with Mary Fowler as Origin win could be bad news for Panthers

Could Nathan Cleary's State of Origin triumph actually spell bad news for the Penrith Panthers? Now that he's finally 'dominated' an Origin series and won a decider, will Cleary decide he has nothing left to complete in the NRL and move overseas?

Speculation has been rife for months that Cleary might be keen to move closer to girlfriend Mary Fowler in England, and the Panthers superstar is coming off contract at the end of 2027. Fowler plays her club football for Manchester City, and recently stated she has no intentions of moving back to Australia anytime soon.

With father Ivan Cleary already announcing he'll step down as Panthers coach at the end of 2027, Nathan must now decide where his future lies. Speaking before the Origin series, NRL Immortal Andrew Johns predicted Cleary might move to England rather than another NRL club - but only if he 'owned' Origin this year.

"I can only see him being a one-club man (in the NRL)," Johns said. "I think there would be more interest to go to England. Whether there's an option in rugby union in Europe, or playing in the Super League over there.

"I know my mate Simon Moran, who owns Warrington, would move heaven and earth and hell to get Nathan there. He's done everything here, we know that. And this year if he owns Origin, then that is ticked off. We will soon see."

Johns' proviso of Cleary 'owning' Origin has now been completed. The NSW halfback won his first Origin decider in four attempts on Wednesday night, scoring two tries and winning the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series.

Nathan Cleary set for huge decision on NRL future

With four NRL premierships, World Cup trophies and a dominant performance in an Origin decider under his belt, Cleary might now decide to take his talents overseas. He was spotted in a lovely moment with Fowler after Wednesday night's game to show they're as strong as ever.

"It's not a decision I'm going to take lightly... (but) I can guarantee nothing will happen over the next little period given how busy and full on it is," Cleary said in May. "Obviously, I'll have conversations with [Fowler] given she's my partner. But it's not something we've done yet."

If they want to live in the same country, it appears likely it'll be Cleary moving. "While I'm playing football, I'd like to be at the highest level possible, so really enjoying it at City," Fowler said last month. "There's a good group of girls there. We did really well last season, so I have no reason to leave. I think it set ourselves up really well to go again next year."

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