Penrith star Nathan Cleary’s awful voice exposed in brewery promo with UFC fighter Tai Tuivasa

If Nathan Cleary played rugby league like he sings he wouldn’t even be able to get a start in a park footy side.

The Penrith Panthers’ grand final-winning halfback proved as much by delivering a very off-key rendition of the classic Aussie song What About Me in a new promo for Drink West, the Penrith-based brewery he’s invested in.

He was badly shown up by UFC star Tai Tuivasa, who showed he has some vocal talent as he led the cover of the Moving Pictures tune from 1982.

Tuivasa and fellow UFC fighter Tyson Pedro created the business, which produced its first beers in 2019 and proudly trumpets its western Sydney roots.

Cleary (front row, fourth from left) should steer clear of karaoke after his off-key effort in the promo for the Drink West brewery

Drink West founders and UFC fighters Tyson Pedro (left) and Tai Tuivasa (right) proved they’ve got some pipes on them as they sang the Aussie classic What About Me

According to the brewery’s website, Drink West Lager is ‘as refreshing as an empty train to the city in peak hour, and as crisp as The Kingsway in winter.

‘Drink West Lager pairs perfectly with a fresh pair of TNs and tall stories about how your old man nearly played for Penrith.’

The promo clip features Tuivasa and May leading the singing, followed by Cleary, with a large group of people standing behind the trio joining in.

Cleary’s efforts saw him come in for some good-natured banter on social media.

Tuivasa is famed for chugging beer out of a shoe after clocking up wins in the octagon. You couldn’t get a better advertisement for Drink West Lager

Cleary was back to his brilliant best when he returned against Souths in round four after missing the start of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery

‘Nathan butchered it hahaha,’ said Sydney rapper Chillinit.

‘How many takes was this? Cleary cracked me up,’ read another.

‘Cleary is totally in key,’ one very sarcastic fan of the brewery wrote.

Tuivasa has also promoted Drink West in the octagon as he climbed the heavyweight rankings during a five-fight winning streak.

The 29-year-old is famous for his shoey celebrations and he’s taken to guzzling Drink West out of his footwear after a win.

‘I was just thinking what’s the fastest way to get alcohol into me after the fight, so I thought I’ll just start doing shoeys when I walk out. And it has stuck. It’s become my thing now,’ he said. 

He and Pedro started the brewery when they couldn’t find a beer company that would sponsor them.

‘Beer sponsors are more for teams, so we just thought, why not make our own?’ Pedro explained.