Warriors recruit Jett Cleary wins more premierships than any other member of his family in 2025. Then he represented Ukraine
“It was a cool thing to speak about with a few of the Aussie boys, how they are Ukrainian. [Their grandparents] were all born in concentration camps before they came over.
“There’s a few grandparents who were probably on the same boat coming over to Oz. We were sharing stories about what’s been taken away from them in the war, it’s very eye-opening.
“One of the boys told about how his house got bombed, how his family had to relocate. I’m grateful they shared their stories with us.
“They were going through such a tough time, but they still wanted to come and play rugby league. It was an awesome experience that I’ll cherish forever.”
Like his brother Nathan and father Ivan, Cleary was part of the Panthers system. However, the 20-year-old halfback joined the Warriors in a bid to make his own name away from the Sydney fishbowl.
“Moving over there away from family and friends was probably the toughest thing I’ve ever done,” Cleary said. “Me and dad were talking about it, [the scrutiny] is going to be there wherever I go, there’s no shying away from it.
Jett Cleary made a successful move to the Warriors.Credit: Getty Images
“There was definitely less spotlight on me this year and it was probably one of the reasons why I strung together some all right footy this year. The Warriors fans and media have been so good to me, I’m super grateful for that. It’s been a good move across the ditch, that’s for sure.”
Cleary was amused by viral social media posts pointing out that he “had one more comps than any other Cleary in 2025.”
“That was cool. I saw all those posts, they were pretty funny and we were joking about it as a family,” he said.
“It’s nothing to be taken away from them, they have been unreal for the past four years and were only one short this year. Hopefully they can win another one next year – maybe the Warriors can beat them and win it.”
Jett Cleary in action for the Warriors in their NRL State Championship grand final against the Burleigh Bears.Credit: Getty Images
Cleary is inching closer to an NRL debut after coming off the Warriors bench for their two grand final wins.
“That’s definitely the goal,” he said. “I’ve many things to work on and I need to start playing better footy to get there. Hopefully that happens in the future.”
