Nathan Cleary is the best player in the game. He’s also one of the toughest

Melbourne: Blues halfback Nathan Cleary will receive a painkilling injection for tonight’s second Origin match in Melbourne for a hip pointer injury that left him struggling to sit and lie down for three days after game one.

What made Cleary’s finish to the Blues’ first win even more remarkable was the fact he did so battling a secret and painful injury he suffered as a result of friendly fire from NSW prop Addin Fonua-Blake less than 15 minutes into the game.

Fonua-Blake slammed into Cleary’s left hip as the pair tried to tackle Harry Grant, only for Queensland to keep the ball alive and score via Tom Flegler.

Cleary refused to show any emotion or complain at the time, nor did he inform NSW medical staff. The first time Blues’ medicos became aware Cleary was in trouble was when he asked to be needled at the break and fitted with a protective pad.

The halfback came up with a vital 40/20 in the second half, and it was his pinpoint kick for James Tedesco that sealed the 22-20 comeback win over Queensland.

Cleary had an ice pack strapped around his hip after the game as he enjoyed a couple of cold cans of beer with his father, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary. At no stage did he mention the injury.

The extent of the damage was revealed when he underwent an MRI scan the next day.

“He suffered a direct blow to iliac crest on the pelvic bone, and the abdominal muscles attached to that, there was also a tear to his abdominal core, which the scans confirmed,” Blues’ doctor Nathan Gibbs said.

Cleary worked with the Penrith physios, but in the days that followed the win over Queensland, the playmaker was struggling to do anything.

He was never named for the Sunday clash against the New Zealand Warriors and would not have played if available.

Penrith’s chief physio Pete Green confirmed Cleary’s bruise was “the size of a soccer ball, and every colour under the sun”.

So serious was his injury that Cleary was even in some doubt to play against the Wests Tigers the following week. He did not complete contact work until Friday before the game, received another painkiller, then produced a masterclass in the Panthers’ 68-0 drubbing.

Stretching, band work and rest were the main things Cleary was asked to do.

Cleary confirmed he was likely to be needled again before kick-off at the MCG, and for a brief moment in the middle of Accor Stadium a few weeks ago, wondered if Fonua-Blake’s head was made of granite.

“I thought it was given the way I felt afterwards,” Cleary told this masthead.

“I didn’t even know it was Addin’s head at the time [that caused the damage]. All I remember was it was pretty sore. I got to half-time, got it needled and it was sweet.

“I wasn’t coming off. It wasn’t even on my mind. I just hoped, at half-time, the needle would work, and it did. You never want to give away any cues to the opposition. It was good we had the week off – that definitely helped. I’m just lucky to have the physios and medical staff we have at NSW and Penrith – they put so much work into me.”

Cleary revealed he suffered a knock to his right hip pointer earlier this season, and while it was painful at the time, it was nothing compared to the agony caused on Origin night.

The 28-year-old told Fonua-Blake about the incident when they returned to camp last week, and the Cronulla prop was in awe of the way his teammate refused to show any emotion.

“You’ll read about the way he led the team around, but you won’t read about how tough he is – you would never have known he received an injection [at half-time],” Fonua-Blake said.

“He gets up for training and games and goes about his business. That’s what I admire about him.

“Some days you don’t feel 100 per cent, but there are no excuses. The person sitting in the fourth or fifth row doesn’t care how sore you feel because they’ve already bought a ticket, and want to see you playing at your best. That’s what Nathan does every day.

“I looked up to the sky [after the tackle], then looked back down and saw Queensland had scored. I didn’t even know what I had hit. I thought it was Harry that bumped me off.

“I was glad it was Nathan because it would have been embarrassing getting bumped off by Harry Grant.”

Gibbs has worked with some of the greatest players in the game for more than 40 years, and rated Cleary in the elite company when it came to coping with pain.

“What fans don’t see is how well he copes playing injured,” Gibbs said.

“I said to him this week in camp, ‘how are you going with the hip?’ and ‘do you need any modifications for training?’. He said, ‘no, I’ll be all right, don’t worry about me’.

“One of the qualities the great players have is playing well injured. He certainly does that.”

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