Jeremiah Nanai has laid bare his burning desire to return to the State of Origin arena after leading North Queensland to a thrilling 26-12 upset of the Penrith Panthers.

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Nanai soared through the air to score the match-sealing try at the death and could have finished the match with a hat-trick if not for a contentious no-try call in the first half.

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The 23-year-old Cairns Kangaroos junior has been battling a shoulder injury all season and said he was getting restless watching Origin from the sidelines.

“The boys have been outstanding, Queensland, and I’m getting itchy feet just watching them and supporting them from home,” Nanai said.

“Obviously I want to be in the arena again and pull that jersey on, it means a lot.

“If I get the call-up, we’ll see, but I’ve just got to focus on what I’m doing here. Hopefully if I get that call-up I’ll take it with both hands and make sure I get the job done.”

At his best Nanai is the most dangerous forward in the NRL in an aerial contest, proving his credentials when he flew over Brian To’o and Dylan Edwards to score.

“Oh my God! What a catch, what a try!” | 00:38

He said he was running on empty but knew he had to dig deep and create a special play to win the game for his childhood hero Jason Taumalolo.

“I was just trying to find something, I was a bit buggered at the end there but I just wanted to do something,” Nanai said.

“I had to find an effort there and the boys got me through that, so credit to the boys for pushing me and making sure I got through the game. It was a special try and it was pretty cool to get that tonight.

“It means a lot. A very special win for Hulky (Taumalolo). A lot of emotions this week going into it. I’m very proud of the boys, they turned up tonight and it was great to get the win too for his 300th.”

Jeremiah Nanai scoring one of his two tries against Penrith.Source: Getty Images

Nanai said he was still working on his match fitness after his first experiences with this year’s new six-again rules and interpretations.

“Two games now under my belt and it’s good to get the game fitness,” he said.

“The game is a lot different now, it’s my first time getting those six-agains and stuff like that, but I’m trying to get used to it. So the fitness is getting there and I’m trying to get fitter so I can do my job for the team.”

Cowboys coach Todd Payten said Nanai had played himself into contention for a Maroons call-up.

“You can see how important he is for us in two games,” Payten said.

“They were pretty good performances and what I like is he’s spent a fair bit of time out of the game but he hasn’t missed a beat.

“I know he was hurting with 15 or 20 minutes to go, we got the message up in the box, should we consider taking him off and making a change, but the people around him pushed him along and we left him out there and he came up with a play like that.

“So he’s only going to be better in a month.”