Heralded as the 'Prince of Penrith', Nathan Cleary is arguably the greatest Panther of all time at just 27 years old.
After winning four premierships under mastermind coach and his father, Ivan Cleary, the elite halfback looks set to retire a Penrith Panthers legend.
While all signs point to a fairytale farewell in the black jumper for Cleary many years from now, rugby league figure Matty Johns has revealed his strategic plan to get Nathan Cleary at a rival club by 2028.
Following the league-shaking deal that saw Dylan Brown committing to the Newcastle Knights for the next decade, Johns has shared how he believes other clubs should follow suit when it comes to luring marquee players.
"If I owned the club, this is what I'd do and it would have been the same with Cameron Smith," Johns told SEN.
"I'd offer Nathan a 10-year deal of which seven or eight of that would be playing and rolling on in the last few years into a coaching role.
โThis is with the view of him being a head coach four or five years after he retires. So you're signing him essentially for life.โ
While Cleary has cemented himself as 'The Ice Man' on the field and one of the greatest to ever lace the boot strings, Johns highlighted Cleary's potential as an NRL coach as a main driver behind the idea of a long-term deal.
โIf something happened to Ivan Cleary and he said โI can't coach for the rest of this season, I've got a bit going on.'
โI'm telling you, Nathan could step straight in and coach that side."
There has been plenty of debate surrounding Brown's 10-year, $13 million contract, with many fans believing the young half isn't worth the money.
Johns conceded that while he would offer Cleary a similar deal, he doesn't believe there is anyone else in the NRL he would hand over the same, touching on a couple of rugby league superstars as his examples.
โI don't think it would work with Kalyn Ponga because he's a different type of player,โ Johns admitted.
โI don't know about Harry Grant because of the damage that is inflicted from him running through the middle of the field.
"Harry cops his fair degree of punishment. That's the only thing stopping me from signing Harry to a 10-year deal.โ
While the Panther tattoo on Nathan Cleary's ribs suggests he will be a Penrith-lifer, between salary cap pressures that have already lost the club many stars in the last few years and rebuilding NRL teams warming up to the idea of decade-long deals, Johns may just be onto something.
