How Nathan Cleary may have finally silenced the Origin doubters

NSW halfback Nathan Cleary (R) responded to his critics with an Origin display for the ages in Game II against Queensland. Pic: Getty

Nathan Cleary didn’t see most of the criticism levelled at him at after NSW went down by six points in Origin I.

He long ago stopped worrying about what keyboard warriors think of him, but he was aware they would be coming for him all the same, somehow heaping the entire blame for the narrow defeat on his shoulders.

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One punter tweeted: “If Bin Laden was hiding like Nathan Cleary tonight, he’d still be alive today.”

There were calls for him to be replaced by the injury-prone Adam Reynolds or Parramatta’s Mitchell Moses.

The booze must have been extra strong that night.

Now, please allow us a little moment to gloat, if you will.

The day after that loss, we had the following to say as fans lost their heads and the Cleary pile-on raged: “Even the great players have the odd stinker. Cleary’s really bad days can be counted on one hand.

“He won’t turn in another one in Perth.”

The NSW No.7 went from a stinker to an 11 out of 10 as his dismantled Queensland brick by brick in game two, reaching heights rarely seen in the Origin arena as the Blues came back to life with an emphatic 44-12 victory.

It was up there with any of the great Origin performances.

Form is temporary, class is permanent.

It’s one of sport’s oldest sayings and Cleary lived it in Perth.

And do you want to know the really scary part?

Cleary is only 24. Think where his game will be in another three to four years.

NSW halfback Nathan Cleary starred in the Blues’ big Game II win against Queensland in the State of Origin series. Pic: Getty

“(Cleary) was incredible. What he is doing at his age as a half-back at this level, there hasn’t been a half-back who has done that in Origin,” NSW great Andrew Johns said.

“His trajectory is going up and up. Some of these passes, his kicking, his running game, he is controlling the tempo of the game. He knows when to accelerate the team. It was a masterclass.

“He is playing like a half-back who has played at this level for 10 years. He had it on a string tonight.

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“And to do it against the truly elite, he pulled their pants down so many times.”

It might finally be enough to convince the fools in the cheap seats Cleary is a player for the big occasions.

But don’t bet on it.

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