League chief executive Andrew Abdo has laid bare the competition’s wish for the Matildas star to be a bonus factor in the league’s expansion into Papua New Guinea. An NRL franchise based out of Port Moresby will enter the competition in 2028 — thanks to a whopping $600 million geopolitical move by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government. More than $290 million of the 10-year funding deal from the Australian government will go directly to the PNG rugby league club. Fowler, a 2023 women’s World Cup hero, previously said she was “so proud to be Papuan”. The 22-year-old’s mother Nido is from Kira Kira, a village in the PNG capital of Port Moresby where her parents first met. Fowler, who has become a hero in PNG, also had an opportunity to represent Ireland because her father Kevin Fowler was born there. Watch your team in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership. Stream every round LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Her potential support for the forecast 18th NRL franchise would be the icing on the cake for the NRL where Cleary has previously been singled out as the most desirable signing for the new team to make. Abdo clearly recognises the potential for her relationship with Cleary to help grow the game in PNG and was asked point-blank about the NRL’s hopes surrounding the pair when asked about their relationship on the Hello Sportpodcast. “It could be something that plays out in the future as something really exciting,” Abdo said of Fowler and Cleary. “A really exciting combination isn’t it. It’s like I was talking about earlier, it captivates people. “There will be a lot of people that are Mary Fowler fans that now are interested in rugby league. “There’s a lot of people who know nothing about sport who are interested in the romance between the two. And obviously if Nathan was playing for PNG down the track that would be pretty interesting as well.” A move to be the face of the new NRL franchise in PNG would likely make the Panthers superstar the highest paid player in the history of rugby league. The four-time NRL premiership winner is signed with Penrith through to the end of the 2027 season on a deal that is reported to be worth $1.3 million per-year. With the PNG government committed to offering NRL players and staff tax-free status for working with the expansion team - Cleary could save roughly $581,628 per-year on annual tax if he plays with the PNG team. Abdo said the expansion into PNG is going to be “one of the biggest things in the game’s history”. “We as a competition are going to benefit from having PNG in this competition,” Abdo said. “They are going to provide generations of talent into the competition in the future. There are so many people in that country and when they get the benefit of good coaching and good structure, they are going to be an absolute powerhouse in providing players to the other teams in the competition. “The second thing, rugby league being there and the investment that we are going to make there is going to change people’s lives in that country for the better. You can’t not be proud. “There is a long way ahead, but it’s going to be transformational. I’m incredibly excited. Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa. Rugby league is the sport of the pacific.” Cleary was also asked about the ongoing links being made between himself and the 18th NRL franchise during the NRL’s blockbuster season-opening weekend in Las Vegas. “It’s not something I’ve had to think about too much,” he said. “Obviously I don’t have a family. In saying that, that will be spoken about quite a bit, especially if it’s a young family. We’ll have to wait and see. “I think it’s honestly amazing with Papua New Guinea. I’ve been over there once and it was like a NSW Cup trial and the crowd was like unmatched to anything I’ve seen so I couldn’t imagine actually having their own NRL team to get behind. “I think it’s great for them. It’s pretty cool with the incentive of the tax (concessions) that they can try and draw big-name players in. It’ll be interesting.” The Panthers have already made moves to close the door on any potential raids the PNG team may make in future. It was reported last year the club was giving consideration to the idea of signing Cleary and father Ivan on an unprecedented contract extension through to the end of the 2032 season. According to Code Sports, that packaged deal would be worth $13.5 million, beginning from 2028. Cleary is not the only big-name signing target for the PNG team. Roosters rising star Sam Walker has previously been linked as another top option to wear the No. 7 jumper for the PNG team in 2028. There have been serious doubts about the team’s ability to attract the best players in the competition - even with the tax exemptions on offer. It was announced last month, the PNG government will build a high-secure compound for players, officials and family members to live in. As first reported by The Australian, the so-called “NRL Village” will cost up to $150m and have potential to host 200 people. Trying to entice Fowler to embrace a compound-living lifestyle seems optimistic from NRL administrators. It was speculated just last year that Cleary was open to potentially moving to play in the UK Super League down the track in order to be closer to Fowler, who plays her club football with Manchester City in the Women’s Super League. Cleary and Fowler have previously discussed the difficulties they face in their long-distance relationship. “It’s been tough, it’s definitely not something that I ever thought I’d do. I think it sort of helped for us that as soon as we met each other, and we sort of got talking, we knew it was going to lead down to that path and if we wanted to do it, it was going to be long distance,” Cleary said on the Keegan and Company podcast. The couple went public with their relationship in April, 2024, but have since admitted they began seeing each other in November, 2023. The other wildcard in the possible direction of Cleary’s future is the potential addition of a 19th NRL team based out of Perth. NRL supremo Peter V’landys has gone public in his attempt to pressure the Western Australian government to cough up public funds to base a team in Perth. WA Premier Roger Cook last month told V’landys to “shut up” about their ongoing discussions. Plans for an NRL club to be based out of Perth have been in a spin since V’Landys in October tore up offers from a private consortium, headed up by Cash Converters executive deputy chair Peter Cumins, to take up the 19th NRL franchise license in a partnership with the North Sydney Bears. The NRL has pivoted towards a preferred proposal for a Perth-based team owned by the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC). That project, as made abundantly clear by the NRL, is dependent on the WA government shelling out cash to support the plan. It will take more than dollars to get Cleary interested in moving to the West or PNG.