Yeo’s high praise for Cleary as pair converge on Origin milestone

“An outstanding player, outstanding friend, outstanding teammate.”

Simply put, the very words of Westpac NSW Blues skipper Isaah Yeo when asked about reaching 20 State of Origin appearances alongside good mate and halfback Nathan Cleary.

Taking slightly different paths in their representative careers after debuting for NSW nearly three years apart, the duo will fittingly achieve the rare milestone at the same time - one that only 13 Blues have accomplished before - having already experienced plenty of shared success on the Rugby League field.  

With a combined 218 club and rep games together, there isn’t a player whose game Yeo knows any better, and the captain was happy to elaborate on what makes Cleary one of the game’s best.

“I just think it’s the way he prepares. The way he prepares gives him confidence and I just don’t think anyone prepares to the level he does,” Yeo said.

“All I know is come game day, he’s left no stone unturned and there’s no excuses for his performance at the end of it. 

“Off the back of that, whether it’s a positive or negative he owns it. He owns it better than anyone else in the competition.”

Now next Wednesday night at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, Yeo and Cleary have the chance to share an elusive victory in a series decider.

On his own Origin experience over the past seven seasons, Yeo described the interstate rivalry as the “ultimate rollercoaster”, but it’s one of the reasons why he loves taking part.

“You wouldn’t want it any other way I don’t think. I’ve had some wonderful nights, had some nights that haven’t been as nice, but it’s been the most wonderful challenge,” Yeo explained.

“To do it 20-odd times, I think that’s pretty special.

“There’s certainly some nights there that you’d like to have back and change the result, but ultimately that’s the challenge of Origin.

“It’s never meant to be easy, and I think I’ve loved that side of it - every time you enter that arena it’s a challenge. It’s everything I’ve expected it to be and more and I've loved every minute of it.”

Looking ahead to the challenge of a hostile crowd in Brisbane, the Blues’ last two visits (2024-25) have been successful with NSW claiming consecutive wins at ‘the cauldron’ for the first time in 27 years.

Yeo certainly understands what it takes to be successful once more and if the current squad can channel those teams, he knows it will go a long way to winning the contest.

“Belief is one thing. You need go up there and have total belief in your game plan and the people beside you,” he said.

“What I was most proud about from those two games is that we were in the fight for the full 80 minutes, didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot and played to our best capabilities.

“Ultimately if you do that, you give yourself every chance and they were two very nice nights.”

Despite the task at hand, the atmosphere is always exciting for anyone who has the privilege of wearing the blue jersey.

“It’s like a Grand Final, it’s do or die, you know when you get there the whole joint’s going to be rocking and it’s an atmosphere you’d expect of a really big game,” Yeo said.

“There’s excitement around it knowing there’s no tomorrows off the back of it, there’s going to be a winner and loser and someone’s going to be holding up the shield.

“We look forward to the challenge and it’s a hell of a place to play.”