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Jasper Bruce

Release sets stage for Cleary reunion, Walters re-signs

Jett Cleary (l) looks set to join proud dad and Panthers coach Ivan (r) at Penrith next season. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Jett Cleary has been released by the Warriors so he can make his first-grade debut alongside older brother Nathan during his father's final year as an NRL coach.

It comes as Brisbane re-signed Billy Walters following the hooker's recent return from a serious knee injury.

The Warriors confirmed on Wednesday they would release the younger Cleary brother from the final year of his contract, paving the way for a move to Penrith.

The 21-year-old half is poised to arrive at the Panthers for the last year of older brother Nathan's current contract, and with father Ivan preparing to leave the club at the end of 2027.

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Family reunion: Nathan and Ivan Cleary will be joined by Jett Cleary in 2027. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)

Next year will mark Jett Cleary's only chance to play under his father at an NRL club, with the four-time premiership-winning coach only open to representative jobs in future.

The younger Cleary joined the Warriors at the end of 2024 but has been stuck down the pecking order at the Kiwi club.

Tanah Boyd, Te Maire Martin, Luke Metcalf, Chanel Harris-Tavita and Luke Hanson were all preferred for NRL opportunities this year.

While Metcalf has signed with St George Illawarra for 2027, the Warriors have signalled their intentions to prioritise Boyd, Martin and Harris-Tavita by re-signing all three this year.

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Jett Cleary in action for the Warriors in their 2025 NRL State Championship triumph. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

The depleted Warriors have also selected Hanson over Cleary to start in the halves for this week's away clash against South Sydney.

The Warriors had nevertheless hoped to retain Cleary, who won the NSW Cup grand final and State Championship with the Warriors last year.

"We were keen for Jett to stay but we accept his reasons for wanting to go home," said Warriors general manager recruitment, pathways and development Andrew McFadden.

Elsewhere, Walters has signed a two-year contract extension that keeps him at the Broncos until the end of the 2028 season.

Walters
Billy Walters will remain with the Brisbane Broncos for a further two years. (AAP PHOTOS)

Walters was the hard-luck story of the Broncos' 2025 premiership run, going down with an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the first week of finals.

His successful return to the NRL side in July has been one of few feel-good moments in a dismal 2026 season at the 16th-placed Broncos.

The new deal could tide Walters over until retirement given he will turn 35 in early 2029.

Walters has played 101 of his 113 NRL games in Brisbane, where he became an NRL mainstay under former coach and father Kevin Walters after stints at Melbourne and Wests Tigers.

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