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Nathan Cleary addresses Broncos rumours

Cleary has rubbished rumours that he and his father Ivan are eyeing a move to Brisbane.

Published by
Ben Cotton

Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary has responded to claims than he and his father, Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary, are looking to move to the Broncos in a package deal.

The NSW representative is set to come out of contract at the end of next season, while Ivan's deal with the Tigers runs through the 2020 season.

But Cleary refuted the rumours, confirming that his main focus was on this season.

"Just kind of have to laugh it off i suppose. There's a new photo of me in a different jersey on Instagram every week," Cleary told the media on Friday.

"So just going to have to deal with that. I'm still not even off-contract next year, it's the year after. So I suppose they'll be coming for a while.

"But I've made it pretty clear from the start that I want to play some good footy and then when the end of the year comes I'll make my decision then."

Asked if he and Ivan have seriously discussed the prospect of one day teaming up, Cleary was upright.

"Not really. We've kind of bounced off each and other and I think we've both come to the conclusion that we would like to do it in the future," Cleary added.

"You can't kind of lie around that, it would be nice. But we've both said it has to be at the right time and the right place, and who knows when that will be.

"A year's a long time in footy, a week's a long time in footy. So we'll just have to wait until the end of the year and I'll be able to make my decision then."

Cleary issued his faith the Panthers, stating that he "owes them a lot."

"I owe the Panthers a lot, they've been really good to me and I've been really grateful," he said.

"For them to take a chance on my as an 18-year old, to debut me, I'll be forever grateful for that. I've just got to keep working hard and still got a long way to go this year. Hopefully we can do really well and go deep into the finals."

Published by
Ben Cotton