{"id":787259,"date":"2026-07-08T15:54:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/787259\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T15:54:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:54:18","slug":"state-of-origin-2026-nathan-cleary-wins-the-wally-lewis-medal-man-of-the-series-man-of-the-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/787259\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Origin 2026: Nathan Cleary wins the Wally Lewis Medal, man of the series, man of the match"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nathan Cleary has finally put the State of Origin criticism to bed.<\/p>\n

The four-time NRL premiership winner\u2019s performances at the Origin level have been a consistent talking point throughout the series, but the Panthers gun responded in a big way on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

After scoring a double in a strong performance in the 2026 decider at Suncorp Stadium<\/a>, the Blues halfback was awarded the Wally Lewis Medal for the Player of the Series.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n

Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirstly, I just wanted to say thank you to Queensland. It\u2019s always such a tough occasion, especially a decider up here and then yeah, our boys,\u201d Cleary said when accepting the medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely unbelievable, what a group, just instilled that belief the whole way and got the job done. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo grateful to be a part of it. Thank you to all my family, my close friends, everyone that\u2019s backed me. And yeah, let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Cleary kept his speech short, Phil Gould was happy to speak on his behalf.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs supremo delivered a staunch defence of the premiership-winning halfback, posing a big question regarding the history of Origin football.<\/p>\n

PLAYER RATINGS <\/p>\n

NSW: Debate over after masterclass as enforcers set stage for ambush<\/a><\/p>\n

QLD: Superstar\u2019s baffling Suncorp shocker as breakout star cops Origin reality check<\/a><\/p>\n

Daley’s passionate response to critics | 02:31<\/p>\n

\u201cI find that commentary really lazy and really lame. All this thing about dominating Origin… how many individuals have actually dominated Origin?\u201d he said on Channel Nine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might have dominated a game or had a good night, but to actually do it over a long period of time, I only saw one do it, Wally Lewis back in the 80s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an unfair expectation they put on these playmakers that suddenly they have to dominate Origin to be recognised as an Origin player. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an outstanding Origin player. He\u2019s a champion footballer, cometh the hour, cometh the champion and he got them home and they were absolutely terrific. <\/p>\n

MORE ORIGIN COVERAGE<\/p>\n

\u2018INCREDIBLE\u2019: Daley\u2019s Blues win series, make history in \u2018heist for the ages\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018BAD WAY\u2019: Tedesco ruled out after brutal collision with Maroons star<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018CANNOT GET THESE WRONG\u2019: Maroons legend livid after Bunker blunder<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018COMETH THE CHAMPION\u2019: Cleary puts \u2018lazy and lame\u2019 Origin criticism to bed<\/a><\/p>\n

“We know how much QLD carry on!” | 01:11<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he did was he serviced his team beautifully. He got them all playing to the best of their ability. He kicked them downfield. He kept them on the pressure. He kicked his goals. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe scored the first couple of tries. What more do you want? This rubbish about dominating Origin. I find that ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Queensland legend Darren Lockyer pulled out his crystal ball ahead of the decider \u2014 and he didn\u2019t like what he saw.<\/p>\n

The legendary five-eighth was \u201cnervous\u201d regarding the commentary of Cleary, who he believed had all the skills needed to respond in perfect fashion.<\/p>\n

And his concerns were clearly warranted.<\/p>\n

‘We need a serious review of the bunker’ | 00:42<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I was really nervous about tonight. That one team had a point to prove because they\u2019d been criticised all between Game II and Game III,\u201d Lockyer explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other team wanted to win for everyone here in Queensland, but Cleary was also criticised or questioned around whether he could dominate Origin and win a decider in Brisbane. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I was always mindful of that individual as well because he had a point to prove and he\u2019s gone out and done it tonight and won the man of the match. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo everyone keeps talking about this. The last bit that he needs to do. Well, he\u2019s done it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam Walker was considered the favourite for the award heading into Game III, given his performances in the first two games of the series.<\/p>\n

Cleary DOUBLE after early Blues blitz! | 00:31<\/p>\n

However, both Cleary and Walker had taken home the man of the match awards in the first two games of the series, and the man in blue came out on top.<\/p>\n

He scored the first try of the decider with a brutal charge, sliding his way over the line.<\/p>\n

His second came from some brilliance from Stephen Crichton and Mark Mawaqanitawase, who combined to create space for Cleary to score on the inside.<\/p>\n

Cleary also finished the clash with a linebreak, a linebreak assist, four tackle breaks, 36 running metres, 24 tackles and 139 kicking metres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nathan Cleary has finally put the State of Origin criticism to bed. The four-time NRL premiership winner\u2019s performances…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-787259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}