'Hopefully one day Nathan can play too': Jett Cleary to represent Ukraine

Boom Warriors halfback Jett Cleary has revealed how his brother Nathan encouraged him to represent their Ukrainian heritage at next month’s European Championships and one day also hopes to play for Ukraine.

Jett, who helped the Warriors to victory in the NSW Cup grand final against the Dragons, is set to make his international debut for Ukraine against Netherlands on October 12 ahead of European Championships fixtures against Greece and Italy.

The 20-year-old is eligible for Ukraine, along with Nathan, through their maternal grandmother Maree, who was born in a German concentration camp after the Nazis invaded during World War II.

His cousin Phoenix Death - the son of former Raiders, Cowboys and Warriors hooker Jason Death - represented Ukraine at last year’s U19s European Championships and has also played for Ukraine Tridents - an Australian-based heritage team.

Phoenix's mother and Jett's mother, Rebecca, are sisters. Their brother is former North Sydney prop Josh Stuart. 

“My cousin played and it was really cool watching him represent Ukraine so I’ve been keen to play this year if there was a chance,” Jett said.

“My Nan talks about it a little bit so I thought if I had the opportunity it would be a good thing to do and I was going to play a few games last year but I had some injuries and I was still playing footy at the time for Penrith.

“My family is proud of our Ukrainian heritage and Nathan actually did convince me, and so did mum and dad, because I was sort of on the fence about it, just because of the pre-season.

“Mum was saying that she would love for me to represent her side of the family and also how it will be an awesome experience to go over to Europe, play some footy and meet some new people.

“We were talking about it and Nathan said that one day hopefully he can put on the Ukraine jersey.”

Nathan met with inspirational Ukraine Rugby League president Artur Martyrosian in Manchester while playing for Australia at the World Cup in 2022 and has supported Ukraine's efforts to continue playing domestically and at international level.

Jett Cleary is one of eight heritage players set to represent Ukraine in European Championships matches against Italy on October 18 and Greece on October 22.

The others are brothers Owen and Yuri Hromow, who play for the Raiders and Sharks, Rhys Sciglitano (Blacktown Workers), Daniel Janissen (Cardiff Cobras), Jonah Ngaronoa (Glebe Dirty Reds), Zayn Sluvinsky (South Eastern Seagulls) and Victor Tereszko (Ipswich Jets).

“My Nan doesn’t say too much about her heritage because she did move here when she was quite young, but I think with me and my cousins representing Ukraine it will bring some light back to the subject for her,” Jett said. “I think for her to see us represent her culture will do that.”

The majority of the Ukraine squad are from the five teams in the domestic competition - Kharkiv, Lviv, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk and Donetsk.

Due to the approaching front line with Russian forces, all of the Donetsk squad were previously evacuated from their homes and are now living in safer regions of Ukraine.

Yet, despite the ongoing war, Ukraine's juniors are going from strength to strength with Under 12s and Under 14s competitions recently completed. 

“It is incredible to see what they are going through and that they still want to play the game we all love,” Cleary said. “I want to try to shed some light on how they are doing over there.

“We had a discussion the other day, with us heritage players, just to talk about how that is the main purpose for us to be going over there.

“Obviously we want to teach them a bit about the game, and I have heard about how much they love rugby league and how passionate they are.

"I could never imagine doing it myself, so it is really cool to see, and I am excited just to go over there and meet them.”

Meanwhile, Cleary said he had enjoyed his first season in New Zealand, where he was born in 2005 while his father, Ivan, was coaching the Warriors.

“The reason for the move was to try and get out of the limelight a bit and focus on myself, and focus on my footy. It has been a really good year, and I am just excited for the next few years,” Cleary said.

“I started the year in Flegg, I played a few games and then I made my NSW Cup debut in Round 12.

“I went back to Flegg for a bit and unfortunately Luke Metcalfe got injured so when Tannah Boyd went up to NRL I played Cup for the rest of the year. That was an awesome opportunity, and I have been really grateful for that.”