Panthers champion Nathan Cleary has added fuel to rumours of a romance with Matildas star Mary Fowler.
Cleary was spotted in Perth on Sunday as the Matildas put on a clinic to claim a 8-0 win over the Philippines in their Olympic qualifier at Optus Stadium.
Fowler scored a goal, while Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr both bagged hat-tricks as the Matildas flexed their muscle in their second Olympic qualifier following a 2-0 win over Iran.
They play their third qualifier against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday.
Cleary appeared to be one of the 60,000 fans in attendance at the stadium as he posed with fans for a selfie in Perth.
The 25-year-old’s appearance in Perth will only fuel speculation of a romance with Fowler after the pair were spotted together during the Matildas’ World Cup campaign earlier this year.
The Penrith halfback and Manchester City forward are both sponsored by Adidas and were seen enjoying a walk along the Nepean River in August.
Photos showed the pair together two weeks before they got tongues wagging when they were first seen out and about together enjoying an ice cream.
Cleary, who led Penrith to their third NRL premiership in a row, suffered a knee injury in the Grand Final win and is sitting out the Kangaroos’ Pacific Championship campaign.
Last month he addressed speculation about his private life, addressing the rumours that continue to swirl around his relationship with Fowler.
The Panthers superstar told News Corp he hopes to keep his private life out of the public domain, saying he is “annoyed” at the recent interest in his life away from the football field.
Cleary acknowledged he is aware of the rumours and is annoyed by the situation.
“It is what is, it’s a little bit annoying to not have a private life but I like to not talk about it too much and keep anything I can private,” he said.
“Things take off pretty quick with social media but I’ll try to keep a private life if I can.”
Cleary says he is aware of the “tall poppy syndrome” that the club has faced this season while hunting a third consecutive NRL premiership.
He said it was a similar situation the Matildas faced when they were eliminated from the World Cup in the semi-finals.
“(Tall poppy syndrome is) extremely weird,” he said.
“Even not long ago with the Matildas, everyone got around them, it was a great thing for the country to come together but as soon as they lost, there were people nitpicking it instead of appreciating it for what it was.”
