The NSW halfback has battled criticism of his performances in the Origin arena throughout his career, particularly his record in deciders, but Cleary has silenced the doubters for good with a man-of-the-match effort.
The playmaker produced a five-star first half to lead the Blues to a stunning 30-12 victory over Queensland at a sold-out Suncorp Stadium.
It was just NSW’s fourth win in a decider north of the border and marks their third-straight win at the hostile venue.
It was Cleary’s first win in a decider and he was awarded the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series after also claiming best on ground honours in his state’s historic Game One comeback.
It’s also a moment to savour for Blues coach Laurie Daley, who has faced plenty of criticism throughout his tenure and claims his second series victory as a coach.
Cleary had two tries and a key role in a third as NSW jumped out to an 18-0 lead after 30 minutes to silence more than 52,000 fans in attendance.
Queensland stormed back, tries either side of half-time cutting the deficit to 18-8 and they threatened to score a third before Bradman Best scooped up a loose ball and ran 100 metres to halt the Maroons momentum midway through the second half.
The loss of Jack Bostock to an HIA opened the door for the hosts to mount a late comeback and Jojo Fifita scored to bring his team back within 12. We looked set for a grandstand finish when Rob Toia crossed but the try was disallowed due to an offside player.
Cleary then sealed the win with a long-range penalty goal before Hudson Young crossed after the final siren to put an exclamation mark on the result.
It was a torrid affair at Suncorp Stadium, with James Tedesco also failing an HIA after a head clash late in the first half.
