Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler 'engaged' as NRL fans lose it over Brian To'o prank on teammate

Penrith winger Brian To'o has yet again raised eyebrows with a cheeky remark about teammate Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler's romance. The Panthers star and Matildas forward have dominated headlines as Australia's sporting power couple in recent months, with their budding romance plastered across social media.

And on Saturday night, To'o - who has regularly joked about his teammate's love life - saw another opportunity to stir the pot when he was asked what the commotion was about in the stands after Penrith's 18-12 win over the Titans. Fox League host Yvonne Sampson probed whether it was the sight of Cleary, who has been out with a shoulder injury since Round 24, that sent fans into raptures.

To which To'o replied that fans had seemingly congregated around Cleary not because he was there but because the Panthers halfback had just popped the question to Fowler. "Nathan? Yeah, he’s over here with Mary," To’o joked.

"They are just chilling on the side, everyone is going crazy. They are pretty much here for Nathan and Mary so congrats to them, I think they got engaged. Congrats to them." In perfect comedic timing, Fox League cameras panned to Cleary who happened to be shaking hands with Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher in what appeared to be a congratulatory moment.

To'o's remark was made completely tongue in cheek, with Fowler not even in the country. The Manchester City striker is back in England after playing in a pre-season tournament in Perth last week. And the NRL world thought the prank was brilliant and another showing of the winger's unique quick humour.

Cleary is on track to return from his shoulder injury against the Roosters in week one of the finals. But after the win over the Titans, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary refused to confirm he was a definite starter despite returning to contract training last week. "(Cleary) has got a few hoops to jump through, but we're hopeful," the Panthers coach said.

Panthers push for fourth straight premiership

Penrith's win over the Titans saw them gain a home-ground advantage for their clash with the wounded Roosters. And Cleary's expected return will give them a timely boost in their push for an unprecedented fourth straight NRL premiership.

But the reality is the Panthers have looked shaky without Cleary and cannot rely solely on the star halfback to fix all their problems. Penrith never looked comfortable against the 14th-placed Titans on Saturday, making 15 errors and trailing 6-4 at halftime. And while they still managed to get the win in the end, it was hardly a victory that would have filled fans with confidence.

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But it would be a brave person to write off the triple reigning premiers. They welcome the Roosters in week one of finals, who haven't beaten them since 2019. And the Panthers coach believes despite the shaky finish to the regular season things are still coming together at the right time.

"It didn't look like we wanted it to look like, but the main thing was to win the game and that's what we did," he said. "I honestly feel like our defence has improved in the month or so. What we didn't have tonight was our attack to complement it. If we can get both together, we're going to be hard to beat."