NRL champ Nathan Cleary pours could water on romance rumour ...

Sometimes an ice cream is just exactly that.

That is is the word out of the Nathan Cleary camp after the NRL superstar’s ‘ice cream moment’ with Matildas hero Mary Fowler set the rumour mill spinning.

Tongues were wagging after Fowler was spotted with Cleary at a recent adidas event.

And the team on Hello Sport Podcast were quick to pour fuel on the prospect that a new Aussie “power couple” had emerged after the sighting.

“Now they’re both sponsored by adidas and they were maybe doing a function. But you have an ice cream with someone, that’s saying something. You may as well be holding hands,” podcast host Tom Birmingham said.

“We haven’t got a power couple do we at the moment?” Birmingham asked.

Fowler is only 20 but - after her heroics for the Matildas in the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup - she quickly become one of Australia’s more recognisable sporting figures.

Her graceful moves on the pitch and signature black gloves made her an instant fan favourite during the tournament.

At 25, Cleary is already considered NRL royalty.

The pair follow each other on Instagram but there are no photos of them together on their Insta pages.

Cleary is captain of Penrith, a dual premiership player, a New South Wales representative, and an Australian representative.

At Penrith, he is coached by his father, Ivan Cleary, who is also a former rugby league star.

Cleary was quick to pour cold water on the ‘secret dating’ rumours just as the internet lit up with excitement.

He confirmed to News Corp that the ice cream was ‘just ice cream’, and nothing more.

Cleary was in a relationship with Teah Foot but that reportedly ended around 12 months ago.

It is not thought he has been in a relationship since.

Fowler’s gloves became a thing of fascination during the World Cup.

She was originally cagey on why she wore them, but later revealed the reason in an interview with former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

“I haven’t told anyone yet what (the reason is) — it’s a bit silly,” she told Schwarzer.

“But I honestly just wear gloves because I get really fidgety.

“Usually I train with a ring on, but if it’s cold, I wear gloves, and I can’t wear a ring in a match, so I usually wear gloves.”

Fowler was born in North Queensland, but her father is from Ireland, while her mother hails from a village in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your .

To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.