Nathan Cleary

Nathan Cleary (born 14 November 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer and Tik Tok star who plays for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL), as a halfback.

He played for City Origin and New South Wales in the State of Origin series.

Cleary is the son of the professional rugby league footballer and coach; Ivan Cleary.

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. 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 descent. He is the nephew of Josh Stuart and Jason Death.

Early career

Cleary progressed through the Panthers' 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. Cleary appeared for the Windsor Wolves in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield in a handful of games, before being called into Penrith's National Youth Competition (under 20) squad mid-season. Cleary was unavailable to play in the Panthers' 2015 NYC Grand Final winning team due to his selection in the Australian Schoolboys team, whom he captained during their two match series against New Zealand under-18s.

2016

Starting the 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 Panthers in round 11, the only game he'd play in that competition in 2016. On 2 June, Cleary extended his contract with the Panthers until the end of the 2019 season; his decision to do so voided a 'father-son' clause in his contract, which would have allowed him to leave the club following his father's dismissal as Penrith's head coach late the previous year, had he so pleased.

Two days after the signing, in round 13, Cleary made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers against the Melbourne Storm at five-eighth. Despite a 6-24 defeat at AAMI Park, Cleary had a great debut; making 38 tackles. The next week against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Cleary scored his first NRL try, as well as kicking 5 goals in the Panthers' 31-24 win at Brookvale Oval. Following a man of the match performance against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 15, The Daily Telegraph said of Cleary: "[it's] 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."

After the departure of seasoned half Jamie Soward and Peter Wallace shifting to hooker, Cleary remained at halfback for the rest of the season. He was in the race for the rookie of the year award, but lost to the Gold Coast Titans halfback, Ashley Taylor. He finished his debut season with 3 tries and 52 goals from 15 matches. He was the Panthers highest point-scorer with 116 points. Cleary was rewarded with being named in the emerging NSW Blues squad.

2017

Cleary was named in the Panthers squad for the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines. On 1 May, Cleary was named in the NSW City Origin representative team to play in the last ever City vs Country game.

Cleary finished the season as highest pointscorer in the NRL with a total of 228 points, the youngest player to achieve this since 1913. He played in all 26 games for the Panthers, scoring 11 tries and kicking 92 goals. Cleary also became the youngest player ever to score 200 points in a season.

2018

Cleary started the 2018 season as possibly the NRL’s form player before suffering a knee injury in Round 3 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs where the Panthers lost 20-18 at ANZ Stadium. While he was out with the injury, Cleary was still leading in contention for the halfback spot for New South Wales. Cleary made his return to the field in Round 11 against his father’s team the Wests Tigers, where he helped steer the Panthers to a 16-2 victory at Penrith Stadium. In his next performance in Round 12 against table toppers the St George Illawarra Dragons, Cleary earned his spot in the New South Wales squad after a fine match, scoring a try as the Panthers won convincedly 28-2 at Penrith Stadium. On 6 June 2018, Cleary made his debut for New South Wales in Game 1 of the 2018 State of Origin series against Queensland, starting at halfback in the 22-12 win at the MCG. Later that week, he kicked the match winning field goal in the Panthers' 23–22 win over the Canberra Raiders at GIO Stadium. He played in all 3 Origin games that year for the Blues at halfback.

2019

In the opening rounds of the 2019 season, Cleary had been criticized by sections of the media and fans for Penrith's underwhelming start to the season.In Round 4, Cleary kicked a goal from the sideline after the final siren to send their game against the Wests Tigers into extra time.Cleary then kicked a 40 meter field goal to win the game for Penrith 9-8.

On 27 May, Cleary was selected at halfback for New South Wales in Game 1 of the 2019 State of Origin series despite the players lacklustre start to the year and with Penrith only managing 2 wins from their first 9 games.Despite New South Wales losing the first game, Cleary was retained for the second game in Perth which New South Wales won 38-6 at the new Perth Stadium.

In Round 18 against St George, Cleary scored a try and kicked 6 goals as Penrith won the match 40-18 at Penrith Park.

In round 25, the final game of the year, Cleary scored 4 tries and kicked 9 goals in their 54-10 victory over Newcastle. In this game Cleary scored 34 points to have the 2nd most points scored in a single game in the NRL. Cleary put on a master class despite this game having no impact on the finals as Penrith finished a disappointing 10th.

2020

On 28 April, Cleary was fined $10,000 after breaking protocols during the Coronavirus pandemic.Cleary was pictured at his home with a group of women on ANZAC Day and the photo was uploaded to social media.Cleary later apologized to the Penrith club and his teammates over the incident.

Cleary previously held a New Zealand passport.