New South Wales assistant coach Greg Alexander says talk of Nathan Cleary being mentally unprepared is “outrageous” as the Blues prepare for the State of Origin kick-off next week.
Blues coach Brad Fittler announced his 21-man squad for Game 1 on Thursday. Clint Gutherson, Luke Keary and Junior Paulo will make their Origin debut.
Cleary, as he was in the 2018 and 2019 Origin series, was named again at the halfback and appears to be joining with Keary in the half.
But after a loss in the Grand Final to Melbourne Storm, there was talk of Cleary not going to be in the best of moods.
Alexander has dropped any suggestions that Cleary would not mentally fit and expects the Penrith halfback to be more than ready by kick-off.
“Nathan didn’t win the Dally M, but I thought Nathan was player of the season and was one of the best players for Penrith in almost every game this year,” Alexander told 2 GB Broad world of sports radio.
“If there’s one young man who is mentally strong, it’s Nathan Cleary. You can tell by the way he plays the game.
“Although we were disappointed with the defeat in the Grand Final, we concluded that he was mentally scarred. Outrageous I think.
“That kind of talk, Nathan Cleary, suddenly unable to aim, is just ridiculous.”
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