Phil Gould says Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary won’t be playing Origin in 2018

PENRITH boss Phil Gould has wasted no time telling NSWRL Nathan Cleary will be off-limits next year if they want the Panther to answer their No.7 SOS.

PENRITH football boss Phil Gould has wasted no time letting NSWRL officials know Nathan Cleary will be off-limits next year if they want the teen Panther to answer their No. 7 SOS.

Mitchell Pearce featured in his seventh Origin series loss on Wednesday night, and was always going to be in the firing line after Queensland again humiliated the Blues.

The next question moving forward will be who plays halfback.

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Gould is keen to protect his young playmaker. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Cleary has been solid for the Panthers and is starting to click with new halves partner Matt Moylan.

The Penrith package deal is sure to be attractive to NSW selectors moving forward.

It only takes a look at how quickly the Melbourne club combination worked for Queensland’s spine on Wednesday night following Cameron Munster’s debut.

Cleary, 19, has arguably the best towering torpedo bomb in the game that will be on full display this evening at a wet and wild Auckland.

But Penrith supremo Gould made it clear to Sports Confidential he would make sure Cleary was not rushed on to the big stage too early.

“NSW have an unenviable record of bringing young halves into Origin football well before they are ready, and/or well before the team is well enough equipped to accommodate them,’’ Gould told us.

“It is my intention to ensure that doesn’t happen to Nathan Cleary.

“End of discussion.’’

Gus is one of the smartest blokes in rugby league, and is hellbent on making sure Cleary continues to develop in his own time, but become a Panther for Life.

Meanwhile, Sterling said Pearce was always going to come under scrutiny because of the ‘’number on his back’’, but he was not responsible for the latest series loss.

Sterlo said all Pearce could do was go back to clubland, blitz it for the Chooks and make himself impossible to ignore at the selection table next year in what could be a case of eighth time lucky.

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Mitchell Pearce is under fire after another Origin loss. Picture: Brett Costello

“He’s an outstanding young man, he had a tough period that’s been difficult, some of it has been self-imposed, but some of it has been unfair as well,’’ Sterlo said.

“He understands the nature of the best. He’ll cop it on the chin.

“The most important thing for mitchell is to now go back and play well for the Roosters, to look after himself, and play the kind of football that demands he gets picked again in the future.

“Every game, every series is new. The baggage and scarring you talk about, it’s not self imposed. He doesn’t put the gorilla on his back.

“He just needs to put his head down, bum up, work hard, his talent is evident, his effort always sensational, and if he’s the best halfback (next year), you pick him.

“The ball is back in his court to demand to be picked.’’