As the Wallabies clamour to find a match-winning No.10 ahead of the 2027 World Cup on home soil, a tanatalising “rumour” linking rugby league star Nathan Cleary to the problem position has been floated by RWC winner Tim Horan.
Speaking on Stan Sport’s Rugby Heaven show after Cleary featured in New South Wales’ dominant State of Origin victory over Queensland, Horan suggested there was talk that Cleary was keen to make a switch.
“You might not have to wait too long,” Horan said as his fellow panellists discussed Cleary and other Origin players who could prove a hit for the Wallabies.
Nathan Cleary of the Blues makes a break during game one of the Men’s State of Origin series between Queensland Maroons and New South Wales Blues at Suncorp Stadium on May 28, 2025 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“There’s been some rumours the last two months that he’s quite keen,” said Horan.
“I’ve heard it totally separate, he’s quite keen to come to rugby.
“I don’t think it’s the right thing for Australian rugby to do, we’ve got a lot of talent coming through.
“But I tell you what, if Nathan Cleary says ‘I’m interested in playing the game’ you’ve got to have a coffee.”
Links between Cleary, 27, and union have been around for some time.
Former chairman Hamish McLennan floated Cleary’s name as a player he’d like to poach, and the Penrith champion addressed them in a 2023 interview with The Sporting News’ Ebbs and Flows podcast.
“I think that’s the exciting part of union, it is on that global stage. If you were to do it for Australia, it would be such a big thing because Australia has sort of neglected union for a while now and it hasn’t been a massive thing,” Cleary said.
“I think that part of it is an exciting prospect, but league is all I have known and loved and it has been a passion for me. I couldn’t see myself doing it, but there is a little part of me that thinks it would be cool to try it out.
“If I was to try it, I would 100 per cent have to be all-in, I wouldn’t just be doing it for the thought of having success or wanting that status. It would take a lot of hard work, I would have to know the game inside-out before I even felt confident pulling on an Australian jersey.
“I wouldn’t just want it because of what I’ve done in league. I still feel like there’s still so much more for me to do in rugby league… it’s just a journey and I feel like I’m honestly just getting started.
“You can have all the achievements along the way, but you know within yourself what you can get out of your talent and what you’ve put in.”
There are obvious stumbling blocks.
Cleary’s Panthers contract extends to the end of 2027 – and he would need considerable time before the World Cup to learn a new role.
When he signed his extension in 2023 it was reported he was on $1.3 million for the first year but then the contract figure would reduce each year thereafter to help the Panthers from a salary cap perspective.
When McLennan made his statement there was a fair amount of scoffing that the sport could afford Cleary. The landscape has changed with RA letting Noah Lolesio go overseas by not meeting his pay demands, and paying less for Ben Donaldson than the playmaker initially wanted.
There is also a ready-made spot set to open up for Cleary at the Waratahs with Tane Edmed earmarked as a replacement for Lolesio at the Brumbies.
