Nathan Cleary scores 22 points as Penrith beat New Zealand 34-22 in Auckland

NATHAN Cleary scored 22 points as Penrith kept their finals hopes alive with a 34-22 victory over New Zealand in Auckland.

Nathan Cleary of the Panthers touches down a try during the Round 19 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and Penrith Panthers at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand on Friday, July 14, 2017. (AAP Image/David Rowland) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

NATHAN Cleary may have played himself into a NSW No. 7 jersey.

What, too early?

OK.

If you say so.

But with only 320 days until Origin I, 2018 ... well, it’s not like the Blues couldn’t use a headstart.

And in this 34-22 win over New Zealand, Cleary was outstanding.

Scored three tries, orchestrated as many more, kicked five goals, tackled, directed and generally looked every inch a Next Big Thing.

And sure, his effort comes with an asterisk.

*Performance against the Warriors.

But, geez, the kid was good.

And if there were a font type for sarcasm, we would use it to tell you how Cleary now leads that charge for the Blues seven.

Sure, we don’t normally start this debate until much closer to an Origin opener.

Like February.

But, already, the young bloke look every inch a superstar.

And at 19, also the perfect age to be ruined by Blues selection, right?

For just as referees get blamed for losses, so NSW selectors can pick a playmaker too early.

Just ask incumbent Mitchell Pearce.

The Warriors lost star halfback Shaun Johnson.

Or Jarrod Mullen. Even Andrew Johns.

And just going back to the whistleblowers for a second, what the bloody hell was doing with that sin binning of Panthers forward Corey Harawira-Naera?

Truly, it looked dodgier than the Blues did Wednesday in Brisbane.

Only seven minutes into the second half, the Penrith No. 11 was marched for knocking down Issac Luke, after the Warriors rake had tried to take a quick tap.

Replays, however, showed Luke milked said play like cereal, crashing to the turf after barely making contact with his hyphenated rival.

And with Penrith a man down, the Warriors ran in two. Yet the display was short lived.

And not the game’s only ugly incident.

Almost as bad was Panthers forward Trent Merrin disappearing before the break with a busted medial. Then Warriors star Shaun Johnson, midway through the second, removed with what appeared to be a stuffed left knee.

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Huge injuries both.

And what must Warriors coach Steve Kearney make of a side that with only minutes to play was content to let a Panthers bomb bounce — and centre Waqa Blake score.

As has been the case all year, the Kiwis mixed daring with Dunce Caps. Wizards with WTF.

Yet again leaving so many of us questioning how we could ever have tipped them.

And all the while, Cleary starred.

No Matt Moylan?

No dramas.

The Panthers young gun grubbering for one try, flick passing for a second and scoring a third himself when, after a big right foot step, he charged, pushed through two defenders then stretched out to score.

All of which came before the break.

And then in the second, he doubled down. The Panthers playmaker scoring twice more before bombing for the last try to Blake.

Although the conversion, he missed.

It was his only blemish all night.

PENRITH 34 (N Cleary 3 W Blake C Harawira-Naera T May tries N Cleary 5 goals) bt NZ WARRIORS 22 (S Kata 2 S Mannering B Thompson tries S Johnson 2 I Luke goals) at Mt Smart Stadium. Referee: Alan Shortall, Gavin Reynolds. Crowd: 13,067