{"id":587027,"date":"2026-09-01T15:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/587027\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T15:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:52:13","slug":"nrl-2026-nathan-cleary-on-his-future-jett-cleary-influence-penrith-panthers-contract-decision-news-videos-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/587027\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Nathan Cleary on his future, Jett Cleary influence, Penrith Panthers contract decision, news, videos, highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nathan Cleary says the prospect of playing alongside brother Jett next year is \u201cexciting\u201d as the Panthers halfback gave the latest update on his future. <\/p>\n<p>Jett made his NRL debut on Sunday, playing a starring role as the Warriors outlasted a brave Knights side to move back into top spot on the ladder.<\/p>\n<p>It was a dream first start for Jett, who returns to the Panthers next year after being granted a release from the Warriors to link up with brother Nathan and dad Ivan. <\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788277933_463_poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/en-AU\/welcome\/nrl?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkleague-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-nrl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, the next question for Nathan is whether Jett\u2019s arrival could influence his decision on whether to stay at Penrith beyond 2027.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe might take my spot after Sunday. He was letting me know about it as well,\u201d Cleary joked to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/cleary-on-course-for-rare-treble-after-winning-brad-fittler-medal-20260831-p60t4b.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens. That\u2019s something to weigh up as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is that [appeal to play together]. I never even considered him playing first grade, let alone train alongside him and play alongside him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s an exciting prospect. It\u2019s still a long way to go, even for him, just to play regular first grade. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jett Cleary of the Warriors with his father Ivan, brother Nathan and family. (Photo by Hannah Peters\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>While Cleary could still re-sign with the Panthers before November 1, it doesn\u2019t sound like there will be any decision or contract signed prior to the finals next week. <\/p>\n<p>After all, both Cleary and the Panthers would not want the distraction of ongoing contract negotiations during the most important month of the season.<\/p>\n<p>But beyond then? <\/p>\n<p>Cleary still doesn\u2019t sound like he is in any hurry to make a call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all the outside world that has made it feel like it\u2019s a rushed decision, but it\u2019s not something I want to rush,\u201d Cleary told the Herald.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a big decision, and I feel like one thing has rolled into another. The Origin period was so hectic, and when we came out of it, we [Penrith] weren\u2019t playing our best footy. My mind has just been elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have another whole year of Penrith anyway, and it\u2019s always felt like it\u2019s so far away, but I guess it is creeping up a bit now. I\u2019m pretty patient with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cleary was speaking on Monday night after he picked up his second major individual award of the season, claiming the Brad Fittler Medal.<\/p>\n<p>MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n<p>SOUTHS LOCKED IN: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/live-nrl-2026-gold-coast-titans-vs-south-sydney-rabbitohs-round-26-live-scores-and-stats-updates-and-blog-jai-arrow-returns-start-time-aest-and-how-to-watch-video-highlights\/news-story\/15ed909d9a78021918304a3eaa0a8aff\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Rabbitohs\u2019 finals berth after touching Arrow tribute<\/a><\/p>\n<p>BENNETT DELIVERS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-jai-arrow-walks-out-for-south-sydney-rabbitohs-video-reaction-mnd-diagnosis\/news-story\/c097886768c577330d6520b8074694c6\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Wayne\u2019s touching moment in \u2018emotional\u2019 Arrow scenes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2018THERE\u2019S NO RIFT\u2019: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-adam-reynolds-coaching-gig-with-broncos-was-reportedly-jeopardised-by-retirement-saga-what-happened-pregame-tribute-slammed-news-reaction\/news-story\/8a27904b8d5c151330d1d3729a916462\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Reynolds hits out after Madge snub in ugly Broncos fallout<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Nathan Cleary won the Brad Fittler Medal for the player of the Origin series. Picture: Jonathan NgSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n<p>Cleary already won the Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series after leading NSW to victory in this year\u2019s State of Origin decider, and now has his second NSW player of the series award after first winning the medal in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The Penrith champion is also on track to take out the Dally M Medal at the end of the season as well as a fifth premiership in six years as his Panthers sit pretty in second spot on the NRL ladder.<\/p>\n<p>Before the Game III decider<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/state-of-origin\/state-of-origin-2026-opinion-and-analysis-nsw-blues-stars-facing-the-axe-nathan-cleary-future-paul-crawley-column\/news-story\/3f744a31e4224011d2cd71ca1e8f908b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"> Cleary\u2019s spot in the NSW side came under question by some sections of the media<\/a> while others stated that his legacy in the game would hinge on whether he could dominate Origin or not.<\/p>\n<p>He put all that to bed in 80 minutes at Suncorp Stadium, scoring two tries and 18 points in the decider to silence critics.<\/p>\n<p>Cleary accepted the award and described the ebbs and flows of the series.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first game was pretty epic, the second a disaster and the third a dream come true. I still have to pinch myself, and it\u2019s lifelong memories you never forget,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Cleary also took out The Daily Telegraph People\u2019s Choice Award, where he secured more than half of the fan vote.<\/p>\n<p>Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/newsletter-sign-up?utm_source=NRLArticle&amp;utm_medium=TextLink&amp;utm_campaign=signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Broncos just want the off season!&#8221; | 07:27<\/p>\n<p>The Dally M Medal is one of the few awards to elude Cleary so far in his brilliant career. <\/p>\n<p>Canberra\u2019s Hudson Young took out the True Blue Award for embodying the values of trust, resilience, and culture after he scored two tries and made 115 tackles.<\/p>\n<p>He had 22 carries in the decider and was the only NSW forward to run for more than 100m in the Game II loss. <\/p>\n<p>Yasmin Meakes took out the NSW Women\u2019s Origin Player of the Series Award along with the Katrina Fanning AO Medal for best player of the series in the Blues\u2019 3-0 triumph over the Maroons.<\/p>\n<p>Jesse Southwell won the People\u2019s Choice Award. She kicked a pivotal field goal in Game I and made a crucial try-saving tackle in Game II.<\/p>\n<p>Ellie Johnston won the NSW Women\u2019s Origin Award.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year has already been a memorable and successful season for NSWRL, with our men\u2019s and women\u2019s Origin teams both claiming their respective series, and participation records broken for a fourth consecutive season,\u201d NSWRL chief executive Dave Trodden said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nathan Cleary says the prospect of playing alongside brother Jett next year is \u201cexciting\u201d as the Panthers halfback&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-587027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}