NSW skipper Isaah Yeo is backing Nathan Cleary to silence his detractors, with the playmaker having the chance to join elite company if he delivers another star performance in State of Origin II.
Cleary will line up for his 19th Origin when the Blues look to seal the series at the MCG on Wednesday night.
The Penrith superstar has won nine of those matches despite having a suite of five-eighth partners including James Maloney, Cody Walker, Luke Keary, Jarome Luai, Mitchell Moses and Ethan Strange.
He will partner Moses in the halves in Melbourne as the Parramatta veteran returns from injury.
While the send-off of Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga helped the Blues mount a stunning fightback to claim the opening match in Sydney, Cleary stood up when it counted.
His man of the match performance came off the back of a try, a crucial 40-20, and a winning try assist for James Tedesco.
It was Cleary's third Origin MVP award, with six players winning four or more, led by Wally Lewis with a whopping eight.
Cleary is in line to sit alongside NSW legends Peter Sterling and Andrew Johns and their fellow four-timer, Queensland's Allan Langer.
While four-time premiership playmaker Cleary hasn't steered NSW to victory in any of the three Origin deciders (2020, 2022 and 2025) he has played, Cleary won the opening two matches of the 2018 and 2021 series at halfback, playing key roles in the Blues wrapping up both series without needing a decider.
Some critics have questioned whether the halfback has done enough to "dominate" the Origin arena, but Yeo said the 28-year-old had already achieved more than most.
Yeo felt Cleary was playing with a "real confidence", helping the Panthers to a runaway lead on the NRL ladder.
"Nathan prepares better than anyone I've ever seen, regardless of whether it's at NRL level, State of Origin level, or playing for his country," his Penrith co-captain said.
"There's obviously all this noise around him because he is held in such a high regard in the NRL community, and rightly so - he's done things in the game that I just don't think many have been able to do.
"But I think even his dad (Penrith coach Ivan Cleary) came out and said, 'What is owning an Origin?', like, he hasn't really seen anyone do that, and he's watched a lot more footy than what we all have.
"All I know is Nathan will be as prepared as anyone on the field. He's playing with a real confidence at the moment and we're seeing that not just in Origin, in that second half (in game one), but at NRL level as well."
