The Warriors are sitting on top of the NRL and speculation over Nathan Cleary’s future has sent shockwaves through rugby league — The round has delivered plenty to talk about as the finals race reaches boiling point.
For supporters in Aotearoa, however, there is only one place to begin.
The Warriors are top of the NRL ladder after their 14-point victory over Newcastle, adding another chapter to a remarkable 2026 campaign and putting themselves in a powerful position heading towards finals football.
And there was a particularly intriguing Cleary family subplot to the Warriors’ rise.
Jett Cleary makes his mark as Warriors go top
Jett Cleary produced an impressive first-grade debut for the Warriors against Newcastle, creating mixed emotions for Panthers coach and father Ivan Cleary as his son helped propel the New Zealand club to the competition lead.
For the Warriors, it represents another significant sign of the depth developing within the club.
The younger Cleary has grown through the Warriors system and his arrival in first grade adds another option as the Auckland club prepares for the intensity of finals football.
But the bigger story is where the Warriors now find themselves.
After years of being treated as outsiders in the Australian competition, they are heading into the final stages of the regular season as genuine premiership contenders.
The challenge now is holding that position when every opponent knows exactly what is at stake.
Nathan Cleary bombshell threatens to shake up the NRL
Away from the field, one of rugby league’s biggest names has suddenly become the subject of potentially enormous speculation.
Reports suggest Nathan Cleary could be targeted with an extraordinary offer capable of reshaping the player market and potentially making NRL history.
For Penrith, even the possibility of losing Cleary would be seismic.
The star halfback has been fundamental to the Panthers’ extraordinary period of success and is widely regarded as one of the most influential players in the competition.
Any serious attempt to prise him away would therefore have consequences extending well beyond Penrith.
It could reset expectations around what the game’s elite players are worth and force clubs throughout the competition to reconsider how much salary-cap space they are prepared to devote to a genuine franchise player.
At this stage, however, it remains a reported approach rather than a completed move, and the size and implications of any potential deal require caution until further details are confirmed.
Two Clearys — very different storylines
There is an intriguing symmetry to the weekend.
While Nathan Cleary’s future dominates headlines across the Tasman, younger brother Jett is beginning his own NRL story in Auckland.
And watching both is Ivan Cleary — the former Warriors coach now synonymous with Penrith’s modern dynasty.
The Cleary family has been woven into the Warriors story before, but Jett’s emergence comes at a very different moment for the Auckland club.
This is no longer a Warriors team simply hoping to sneak into September.
It is a team sitting at the top of the competition and beginning to develop the depth expected of genuine premiership contenders.
September pressure arrives
Round 26 has provided another reminder that the NRL changes dramatically once the finals come into view.
Injuries become more costly.
Ladder positions become more valuable.
Player depth becomes critical.
And speculation around the game’s biggest stars intensifies as clubs begin looking beyond the current season.
For the Roosters, the immediate question is Sam Walker’s fitness.
For Penrith, attention has unexpectedly turned towards Nathan Cleary’s future.
For the Warriors, the challenge is much simpler.
Keep winning.
After a weekend in which they climbed to the summit of the NRL, the Wahs no longer need to look upwards at the competition leaders.
Everyone else is looking up at them.
And as September approaches, the possibility of the NRL premiership finally crossing the Tasman is becoming increasingly difficult for Warriors supporters to ignore.
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