Cleary was heavily criticised following Game I last year, as the Blues’ attack faltered. After the match legendary halfback Andrew Johns labelled the side’s offence “terrible”. NRL reporter Michael Carayannis went even further, slamming Cleary’s State of Origin career, saying he is fortunate to not be more heavily criticised.
“He was woeful (in Game I of the 2023 series) and if that was Mitchell Pearce or Mitchell Moses, people would be shouting from the rooftops calling for his head,” Carayannis told SEN last June. “Cleary didn’t man up and he is one of the Blues’ big game players.
“He just failed when they needed him to deliver. He will be picked for Game II but his performances in Origin for mine have been very underwhelming. He hasn’t grabbed a series and if you matched him with his record on Daly Cherry-Evans, Cherry-Evans (has outplayed him). They had a lot of ball and a lot of territory (but) the criticism needs to be on the one in the seven (jersey).”
As a result of injury, Cleary did not play in Game II or III, instead Mitchell Moses stepped into the side. The Blues were hammered 32-6 in game two but bounced back to win 24-10 in game three, however, ultimately lost the series.
The Panthers halfback is aware his Origin performances need to improve and gave an honest assessment of his Blues career to date before last year’s series. “It’s been a rollercoaster, but that’s what rugby league is,” Cleary said about his State of Origin career. “There have been some great moments and some not-so-great moments, so I’m just trying to deal with that and learn from the past and apply that to the future to get better.”
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