Penrith’s Kangaroos superstar is in England for the World Club Challenge. He talks fame, the Panthers and using his voice
It’s been very refreshing, actually, to just walk around like a regular person,” Nathan Cleary says as a drab February morning in Manchester becomes something different to the revered Australian. It might feel to the rest of us that we’re locked in an endless English winter but, for the folk hero of the Penrith Panthers who is described by many as the best rugby league player in the world, the grey anonymity feels uplifting.
Obviously I’m in a very privileged position back home, with a lot of interest, but it’s nice to be here,” he continues. “It’s such a refreshing feeling.”
Wherever Cleary is in Australia, and especially in Penrith, on the grittier outskirts of Sydney, his fame can be consuming. The hardcore rugby league fraternity in the north-west of England has shown respect and even awe this week, and Cleary has done his share of selfies and autograph sessions at scheduled events, but the rest of Manchester has left him in peace. Most people in the UK have no idea that Cleary produced one of the great sporting stories of last year, with a sustained 14-minute streak of brilliance and clarity to overturn a 24-8 deficit against the Brisbane Broncos and help the Panthers win an historic third straight grand final.
They are also oblivious to the fact that Cleary was one of the key supporters of a bid to enshrine an Indigenous voice in parliament and that he and Mary Fowler, a star for the Matildas in the women’s football World Cup last year, have become one of Australia’s most discussed celebrity couples. In his low-key way Cleary is happier talking away from the cameras and the masses as he prepares for Saturday night’s World Club Challenge against Wigan.
There is also a steely little edge because, a year ago, Penrith lost the equivalent match between the respective champions of the NRL and the Super League. Defeat stung even more as they were shocked by a 13-12 home defeat to St Helens. It was the first time an English team had won the competition away from home since Wigan beat the Broncos in 1994.
That hurt,” Clearly says bluntly, “so we’re going to try and turn that around this week. We knew St Helens were a great side and we totally respected them. I also know a fair bit about Wigan as I’m a Super League fan. Obviously Wigan were on fire last year and my good friend Tyrone May played for Catalans Dragons against them in the final. I got up to watch that and they can strike from all around the park, with a lot of speed.”
Are the English clubs closing the gap on their traditionally superior NRL rivals? “I think so. There’s just that discrepancy between the top and bottom teams. But the top three or four Super League teams are great sides with great players. So we look at the challenge of playing Wigan away as an opportunity to do something special. Everyone was psyched when they saw the game was sold out and we’ve spoken about managing the atmosphere and the conditions.”
Cleary was icy cool in the searing heat of his third successive grand final win. The match was hailed as the greatest comeback in NRL history. Facing a crushing defeat, Cleary entered that mysterious space where sporting icons find the composure and conviction to create something transcendent. “I definitely get recognised more since that game,” he says, “but I wouldn’t change that. It was such a great experience.”
He had made mistakes and the Panthers were reeling and trailing by 16 points with just 18 minutes left. Cleary laughs when I ask what he was thinking in that difficult moment. “I said to myself, and excuse my French: ‘Fuck it. It can’t get much worse than this so I may as well go down swinging.’ I didn’t want to come off the field with any regrets as the way I started the second half was really poor. We always had belief in each other and I knew we just needed a bit of momentum.”
