Nathan Cleary was a shattered man on Sunday night but says joining the NSW Origin camp has been the perfect remedy for any lingering NRL grand final pain.
The Penrith star was in tears at fulltime after losing the decider to Melbourne but two days later joined the Blues in camp on the Central Coast.
Training with the squad for the first time on Thursday, the 22-year-old said he was still disappointed by the loss but a post-season Origin series means he doesn't have to wait out the off-season to play again.
"It was pretty hard," he said.
"Everything just replays in your head but I've been pretty lucky since the game I haven't had too much time my myself to think about it too much.
"I pretty much came straight here (to camp).
"If I was to think about it too much it affects me as a person and me as a player in this group too.
"It's just time to move on and control what I can moving forward."
The Panthers halfback was brutally critical of his own performance after the 26-20 grand final loss - particularly over the intercept pass he threw for a Storm try.
He took ownership for the defeat and said he blamed himself.
The comments sparked concerns over his ability to put aside the disappointment to lead the Blues to victory against Queensland in the Origin opener on Wednesday night.
However, Cleary was jovial around the group at Blues training on Thursday along with Panthers teammates Stephen Crichton and Jarome Luai who also trained for the first time.
And when asked if he would throw that pass again if given the chance he said: "One hundred per cent."
"It's how you develop as a player, and and that's my kind of thing going into the future is how to get better as a player and take on the mistakes I've made, but try and make sure it doesn't happen again and try to improve."
Australian Associated Press
