Mary Fowler detail and $500,000 tax exemption that could lure Nathan Cleary to PNG NRL team

If the NRL's new PNG franchise could have their pick of any player to be their marquee signing, it would undoubtedly be Nathan Cleary. But could the bombshell move actually eventuate?

The PNG team will officially be announced on Thursday, with the Australian Government contributing $600 million to the venture across 10 years, and their PNG counterparts allocating upwards of $150 million. The new team will come into the competition in 2028, and they'll be hoping to lure some serious talent.

Cleary has been touted as the new franchise's No.1 target, and there are a number of reasons it makes sense. Cleary's girlfriend Mary Fowler has PNG heritage, with her mother born there. Fowler was born in Cairns in far north Queensland, and there have been some suggestions the PNG team could actually be based in Cairns.

However the more likely option is the PNG franchise will be based in Port Moresby, with a special, secure compound to be built to house the players and their families. Cleary's current contract with the Penrith Panthers runs until the end of the 2027 season, meaning he will be a free agent in 2028 when the PNG team comes in. The dream scenario would be for Nathan and father Ivan Cleary to both make the move north, with Ivan becoming the inaugural coach.

Players who sign up to play for the PNG team will also be given special exemptions and won't have to pay tax. That means if Cleary is on $1.2 million, he'd be able to keep around $500,000 that he'd normally hand back to the government through tax.

The big sticking point is the fact Fowler plays in England with Manchester City and would seemingly be long-odds to return to Australia (or PNG) in the near future. However 2028 is a long time away and circumstances can change.

The 21-year-old showed recently when she withdraw from Matildas games against Brazil and Chinese Taipei that she might be struggling with the gruelling schedule and nature of being a professional athlete. By the time 2028 rolls around she might be keen for a change of pace. However she'll be 25 in 2028 and still in the prime of her career, and the closest A-League team would be over 2000km away in Brisbane.

Would Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler move to PNG?

Cleary also revealed this week that he's keen to start a family with Fowler in the near future. But would they be comfortable doing so in PNG - which has the second-highest crime rate in the world - even if they did live in a secure compound?

Speaking on SEN radio on Wednesday evening, veteran journalist Adrian Proszenko floated Cleary's name as a target for the PNG team. But he said: "I'm not sure the tax-free exemptions will be enough to lure some of the top players and convince them that compound living is something they'd want to do."

Proszenko also pointed out how the tax exemptions will mess with the salary cap system. "For marquee players like Nathan Cleary, he'd be getting $500,000 back in free money," he said. "But that's distorting the cap by inserting a lever to make the team competitive."

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Which NRL players would the new PNG team target?

Players with PNG heritage loom as the most likely to move, with Alex Johnston, Xavier Coates, Justin Olam, Kyle Laybutt, Lachlan Lam and Nene Macdonald all floated. There's also a reported 750 junior players coming through in PNG who'd be itching at playing for their local team.

"The potential is going to be something incredible and I think will work admirably," said founding Brisbane Broncos director Barry Maranta this week. "With the proper guidance PNG will end up emerging as a most significant power. We have also seen many of those players from Super League come back and perform at a significant standard at international level for PNG."

with AAP