Nathan Cleary

Did You Know?

• Cleary is the son of coach and former professional rugby league footballer Ivan Cleary, who coaches him at the Penrith Panthers.
• Cleary kicked a 40-metre field goal in round 4 of 2019 to win the game for Penrith 9–8 against the Wests Tigers.

Background

Nathan Cleary was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He spent a number of his childhood years living in Auckland, New Zealand while his father was playing for, and later coaching, the New Zealand Warriors. He attended Sacred Heart College, Auckland for two years and, having grown up playing soccer, Cleary switched to rugby league during his pre-teens, playing at a junior level for the Mount Albert Lions in Auckland and the Penrith Brothers in Sydney. He completed his HSC while attending St Dominic's College, Penrith in 2015, where he was a prefect. Cleary is of Croatian and Ukrainian descent. He is the nephew of Josh Stuart and Jason Death.

Playing career

Cleary progressed through the Penrith club's junior system, playing in their Harold Matthews Cup (under 16) and S. G. Ball Cup (under 18) teams, the latter of which he captained in 2015. He appeared for the Windsor Wolves in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield before being called into Penrith's National Youth Competition squad mid-season. Cleary was unavailable to play in Penrith's 2015 NYC Grand Final winning team due to his selection in the Australian Schoolboys team, whom he captained.

He played 20 games, scoring 11 tries and kicking 109 goals for 262 points in his U20s career from 2015 to 2016. Starting the 2016 season as Penrith's first-choice halfback in the NYC, Cleary was selected to play for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis in May, where he played at five-eighth scoring a try and kicking 5 goals in the 34–20 win. He made his New South Wales Cup debut for the Penrith club in round 11. On 2 June, he extended his contract with the Panthers until the end of the 2019 season; his decision voided a 'father-son' clause that would have allowed him to leave following his father's dismissal as Penrith's head coach.

Two days later, in round 13, Cleary made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers against the Melbourne Storm at five-eighth, making 38 tackles in a 6–24 defeat. The next week against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Cleary scored his first NRL try and kicked five goals in Penrith's 31–24 win. Following a man of the match performance against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 15, The Daily Telegraph said: 'hard to believe he is only 18 playing his third NRL game.

Composed under pressure, kicked well and supported inside for a crucial second half try.' He finished his debut season with 3 tries and 52 goals from 15 matches, was the Penrith club's highest point-scorer with 116 points, and was named in the emerging NSW Blues squad.