Brent Read: Nathan Cleary’s dignity in Blues defeat is the sign of a great footballer and a great human

A simple act by Nathan Cleary following the Blues’ devastating series loss proved he is not just a great footballer, but a great human, writes BRENT READ.

Nathan Cleary did the rounds in a chastened NSW dressing room on Wednesday night. Right up until the clock struck midnight, Cleary fronted up and conceded that he had failed to answer the lingering question over his State of Origin legacy.

No doubt, he did so through gritted teeth. It can’t have been fun but losing never is. Cleary did it anyway when others may have hidden away or declined to answer the questions that were thrown his way.

God knows, plenty of players of lesser stature have done it in the past. With the blowtorch applied, they have turned to water. They have run for cover. They have hidden behind officials or scurried out the back door.

One year, after an Origin defeat, the Blues walked past a pack of journalists in a procession and refused to answer questions. On other occasions, players have had an off night and just snarled at the media.

Nathan Cleary owned his performance in Origin III. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Not Cleary. He never does and for that he deserves eternal credit. He knew what was coming the moment he left the playing surface at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night and headed for the sanctity of the dressing room.

He fronted up anyway. He admitted he could have been better. He conceded the jury remains out on whether he has dominated for NSW. He owned his performance.

The way in which Cleary stared down his inquisitors reminded me of the same scene nearly 20 years ago, only then it was Brett Hodgson under the gun.

Hodgson threw the pass that changed Origin forever in 2006, resulting in a try to Darren Locker and a shift in momentum that kicked off a Queensland dynasty.

After that game, as tortured as he no doubt felt, Hodgson walked into a media pack, held his head high and spoke about a moment of devastation.

He walked away with the admiration of all. One scribe was so impressed he wandered up to Hodgson at Sydney airport and told him that he should be proud of himself for the way he dealt with what must have been an inordinately difficult situation.

A devastated Brett Hodgson after throwing an intercept in 2006. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Cleary no doubt was enduring similar pain given the expectation that shadowed him onto Accor Stadium. This was his chance to win a decider and as luck would have it, he had been given the opportunity on home soil.

He carried the hopes of 80,000 supporters in the stadium and millions more around the state on his shoulders. The pressure must have been suffocating, particularly when columns like this have devoted plenty of inches to discussing his Origin legacy,

The Blues came up short and Cleary – the best player in the game and a four-time premiership winner with Penrith – was always going to be front and centre in the post-mortems that followed.

Buy the ticket, take the ride they say. Cleary is handsomely paid to win games like the other night but any pressure from the outside no doubt pales in comparison to that which he puts on himself.

Great players carry great expectations, particularly from within. Cleary knows better than anyone that wearing the No.7 jersey means you own the result.

So you can only imagine the bitter disappointment he was feeling in a devastated NSW sheds after the game. Yet what little we know about Cleary is that it isn’t his way to run and hide. He doesn’t duck for cover. That’s not in his DNA.

Ivan and Nathan have handled their ups and downs with class and dignity. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

He is invariably polite no matter what the result or the occasion. True to form, he handled his disappointment on Wednesday night – at least publicly – with class and dignity.

As shattered as he must have been, he looked his inquisitors in the eye. He knew better than anyone that he had missed the chance to own Origin. He said the thoughts of others were not out of line because they were only echoing what he thought himself.

This columnist hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with the Cleary family. I was one of Ivan’s biggest critics when he walked out on the Wests Tigers, although in hindsight he made a decision that is easy to justify given the way things have panned out.

He has become one of the greatest coaches in the modern game but if his son is anything to go by, he has been a handy father as well. Nathan is without doubt a great footballer but on the evidence that this columnist has been in recent years, he seems a hell of a human as well.

In the end, that’s far more important than owning Origin.

Originally published as Brent Read: Nathan Cleary’s dignity in Blues defeat is the sign of a great footballer and a great human