Nathan Cleary is a free agent as of today – and no matter how remote the chance of him leaving Penrith
asserted
him → leave → Penrith
, the Roosters have emerged as a wildcard to have a serious crack at landing the game’s No.1 target.
A week ago, the Tricolours had barely given Cleary a second thought.
asserted
Tricolours → emerge → thought
But the shock split with their premiership-winning halfback Sam Walker has opened the door.
asserted
split → win → door
Cleary is expected to stay at Penrith, where he has played his entire career to date.
asserted
he → expect → date
But the Roosters will at least give him something to consider beyond the Panthers and the Chiefs.
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Roosters → give → Panthers
PNG will have to come up with an offer with far more to it than simply relying on the lure of $1.7 million a year tax-free.
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PNG → have → million
The Bulldogs are being pushed as a potential destination for Walker, who unexpectedly came onto the market after failing to reach an agreement over a contract extension at the Roosters.
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who → push → Roosters
The Dogs are not biting as they have minimal cap room.
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they → bite → room
It’s an interesting fit, as the Bulldogs’ best player this season was their own No.7, Lachlan Galvin.
asserted
player → ’ → ?
But it’s possible to see Walker playing halfback alongside Galvin at five-eighth.
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Walker → ’ → eighth
They are both instinctual players and the Dogs would need to change the way they play to accommodate Walker.
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they → need → Walker
It would also need the Roosters to fund some of his contract.
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Roosters → need → contract
Ironically, Galvin was brought into Origin camp this year to replicate the off-the-cuff style of Maroons pair Cameron Munster and Walker in opposed sessions.
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Galvin → bring → sessions
We’ve been told the most logical fit for Walker – the Cowboys, as part of a swap with Tom Dearden – is too complicated.
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fit → tell → Dearden
Maybe that’s because Dearden’s partner, Millie, will be moving to Townsville soon after the pair had their first baby recently.
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pair → ’ → baby
Dearden is tipped to honour the next year of his deal and then look at joining a Sydney club in 2028, despite being contracted at the Cowboys until the end of 2029.
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Dearden → tip → 2029
As far as we can establish, he has not instructed his manager to tell the Roosters or Chiefs he is not interested.
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he → establish → Roosters
We know PNG are still keen because their general manager, Michael Chammas, has told the Roosters he has not been making a sneaky play for Walker.
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he → know → Walker
Cleary has said he is not motivated by money.
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he → say → money
Chammas will need to be creative to get his man.
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Chammas → need → man
Conservatively, with third-party payments, Cleary stands to clear about $2.5 million a year if he signs with the Chiefs.
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he → stand → Chiefs
The Panthers are operating on a budget of about $1.7 million on the cap to retain him.
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Panthers → operate → him
Why Roosters and Walker fell out of love
The Roosters’ break-up with Walker finished with a message of support from Nick Politis to the halfback.
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up → fall → halfback
Politis is ruthless, but big-hearted when it comes to his players.
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it → come → players
However, there has long been an uneasy relationship between the Walker camp and the club he loves.
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he → love → camp
In a phone call with Politis, Walker said he was grateful for everything he has had at the Roosters.
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he → say → Roosters
Politis told Walker he would be there to help him in the future.
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he → tell → future
Today, he is trying to help him out the door.
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he → try → door
How did we get here?
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we → get → ?
At the start of the year, some of Walker’s key advisers were ringing around and asking if the Roosters were interested in Nathan Cleary.
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Roosters → ring → Cleary
They were jumping at shadows at the time, and it was an indication that there was a lack of trust between Walker’s team and the Roosters.
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it → jump → team
And they have preferred dealing with Steve Gillis, the back-up agent for Walker behind Clinton Schifcofske, his No.1 man.
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they → prefer → Schifcofske
It was Gillis who delivered the news to Politis that Walker wanted extra money.
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Walker → deliver → money
Complicating the issue was that the Roosters were one of the clubs sounded out earlier in the year by representatives of Tom Dearden, who wanted to see if they could accommodate their client if he moved to Sydney to be with his partner.
uncertain
he → complicate → partner
Then there was the fact that veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans had been brought in for 2026 to either help or actually run the side.
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Evans → be → side
All of this can impact a player’s ego.
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All → impact → ego
And those who love Walker took note.
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who → love → note
Walker wanted to play on the right side of the field, traditionally the domain of the halfback.
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Walker → want → halfback
There are some who thought he was actually better suited to the five-eighth role.
asserted
he → be → role
All of this has been swirling around in the background.
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All → swirl → background
…and 52 more, not listed.
The Aporia
