More to come: Cleary

Star’s warning to rivals

NATHAN Cleary has declared he is “just scratching the surface” after the Kangaroos halfback silenced his critics in the World Cup final.

Cleary’s performances at the tournament were heavily scrutinised but the playmaker saved his best for last.

The 25-year-old dominated Samoa at Old Trafford on Sunday and has now added a World Cup to his two NRL premierships.

Teammate Latrell Mitchell said the criticism was tallpoppy syndrome.

“Everyone gives him a bit of stick. When you’re at the top of the game and winning, everyone wants to see you fall – I’ve been there,” Mitchell said.

“It’s all credit to Nathan the way he’s conducted himself and I’m very proud of him and the way the year has turned out for him.

“Winning back-to-back competitions is a hard thing to do, I’ve been there and done it, then to be able to (win the World Cup) with the boys is something very special.”

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga also went into bat for Cleary, blasting the commentary around his form as “ridiculous”.

“I thought he was excellent. Not many people expected it, except us,” Meninga said. “It’s been ridiculous to be honest with you the banter that’s been going on, but we had belief in our team and what we’re doing and he was exceptional.”

Captain James Tedesco also took a parting shot at Cleary’s critics following the final.

“Everyone at the start of the tournament was calling him the best player, but by the end of it people are bagging him,” Tedesco said. “So I don’t really understand some of the comments that come at Nathan but he’s one of the best players in the world and he showed it tonight.”

The man at the centre of the debate said the final was the most comfortable he’s felt in a Kangaroos jersey.

“I just felt I had the best week of preparation and I knew I had to play well and link the team together if we wanted to win,” Cleary said. “We probably played the best game of our tournament too.

“Mal has always instilled the confidence in me that I could do the job and I’m very grateful for that and glad I could try to help repay the favour tonight.

“I’m 25 and there’s a long way to go, I feel like I’m just scratching the surface so very grateful for what’s happened so far, it’s not every day you get to win a World Cup at Old Trafford.”

Cleary was told of Mitchell’s comments and said the squad was full of players who had overcome adversity.

“I don’t really take too much notice of the outside noise,” he said.

“That’s been a cool thing about this group, a lot of people have been through that so we come together and ... know what we need to do for each other to get results.”