Nathan Cleary’s name has been etched among the greats with a man-of-the-match performance in Penrith’s 26-24 grand final defeat of Brisbane.

Nathan Cleary has etched his name in the pantheon of great NRL halfbacks, winning a second Clive Churchill Medal and third premiership – all before the age of 26.

In Penrith’s defeat of Brisbane at Accor Stadium on Sunday, the halfback masterminded the biggest comeback in grand final history.

He set two tries up and scored one to help Penrith claw back from 24-8 down after 62 minutes, to 26-24 up at the final whistle.

The performance cemented Cleary’s status as one of the great modern playmakers, and dispelled the narrative that he goes missing in games.

Cleary has now won more grand finals than either Andrew Johns or Jonathan Thurston and is the first halfback since Peter Sterling to win three premierships before the age of 26.

Having won the Clive Churchill Medal after the first of Penrith’s three consecutive title wins, Cleary is only the third man to have won the Clive Churchill Medal more than once.

He joins Bradley Clyde and Billy Slater in an elite club.

“I just feel like what he’s done in this space of time, there’s been no other halfback that has done it,” said Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo.

“I reckon if you put his statistics up against any other halfback at this point, he’s 25, no-one’s done what he’s done.

“That 20-minute period he put the team on his back and he won us our third grand final in a row. I’m very happy he’s our leader and he’s our seven. It’s a privilege to play with him.”

Cleary described Sunday’s game as the most difficult of his career.

“It honestly doesn’t feel real right now,” Cleary said.

“To the Broncos boys, absolute beast team, very young.

“Thanks for that game, it’s the hardest game I’ve ever played. To our boys, it’s nothing but love. We’ve worked so hard for this and we’re still just getting started.”

For his first assist, Cleary dummied past Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam and burst away down the right edge before finding prop Moses Leota on the inside.

He kicked a 40/20 in the set after points to keep the pressure on, and then threw the last pass to Stephen Crichton to bring the margin to only four points.

Cleary capped his night off by stepping inside a hole in the final four minutes and sealing victory with a try of his own.

He kicked a perfect five from five goals and ran for 162 metres, the third-most of any Panther.