NSW Blues halfback Wally Lewis has claimed the Wally Lewis Medal as the player of the State of Origin series for the first time in his career.
Cleary, who came into the Origin series under plenty of pressure for his spot, was named man of the match in both Game 1 and 3 of the series.
Game 1 saw him lead the Blues back from a 14-point deficit to take out the opener in Sydney after Kalyn Ponga was sent off.
While he had a poor performance in Game 2, leaving question marks over his spot and halves combination with Mitchell Moses, he turned up in a big way for the decider in Brisbane, scoring the opening two tries of the contest, kicking five from five off the boot, and putting up sizeable efforts at both ends of the park.
The champion halfback's first Wally Lewis Medal adds to an impressive career resume that now includes four man of the match awards at Origin level, four premierships at club level and an Origin decider win on his resume.
