There were times after last year's game-three decider that even the NRL's best player thought he might be left out of Laurie Daley's team sheet for Origin I of 2026.
For the third time in his career, Cleary in 2025 had been the halfback tasked with leading the Blues in a game-three decider.
And for the third time, the Penrith co-captain came up short.
Cleary has played in three series wins and won player of the match twice among 17 appearances for the Blues.
But his record in game-three deciders has led to long-standing media commentary that he has yet to "own" the Origin arena the way he has dominated the NRL since Penrith's resurgence in 2020.
"At the end of the day owning Origin is subjective to anyone that wants to comment on it," Cleary said.
"It's probably not something I think about too much, to be honest.
"I just want to be the best teammate I can and play up to the standards that I set for myself. In my mind, they're the sorts of things I value."
Cleary cut a forlorn figure in the Blues' sheds after game three last year as he was consoled by mother Bec and father Ivan, his coach at the Panthers.
In the days that followed the four-time premiership winner Cleary found himself pondering whether selectors might lose patience with him for 2026.
"They're probably thoughts that come into your head a bit," he said.
"(But) there's so much time in between, so much can happen. At the end of the day, it's just a waste of energy thinking about that."
Cleary resolved to lean into the disappointment of 2025 in a bid to move on more rapidly.
"It was disappointing but I thought compared to past years, I sort of tried to understand what happened a bit quicker," he said.
"With the fact that you go back to clubland, you can sort of sweep it under the rug quite easily but I sort of sat on it for a few days.
"It gave me peace of mind to move on from it, grow from it, learn from it."
Cleary's focus is now on connecting with halves partner Mitch Moses and the remainder of his teammates in the 2026 series.
Centre Stephen Crichton participated in the Blues' first full-contact session of their game-one camp on Thursday after missing the previous day's training to rest his troublesome shoulder.
"He was sweet. It's good to have everyone fully fit and in and amongst training. He looked good out there today," Cleary said.
Cleary said he had not yet turned his mind to the prospect of his father Ivan coaching the Blues in future.
The four-time premiership-winning elder Cleary will step down as Panthers coach after next season, but has publicly voiced his representative coaching aspirations.
Blues coach Daley is contracted until the end of this series.
"I haven't thought about it. It's this series that I'm focused on," said the halfback.
"I've got Laurie as a coach and I've thoroughly enjoyed working alongside him."
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