Up against former Panthers star Stephen Crichton in June, McLean was the star of the show on the finest night of the 19-year-old's NRL career.
Whether McLean marks up on Crichton again in Sunday's do-or-die semi-final at Accor Stadium remains to be seen.
Crichton is still considered some chance of playing, seven days after scans initially suggested the Bulldogs star would miss up to four weeks with syndesmosis and foot injuries.
Regardless, McLean has happy memories of taking on Crichton.
The teenager opposed him in training just once in 2023, admitting he was starstruck by the NSW State of Origin hero at the time.
But he certainly didn't show it when the pair met in June, with McLean getting in Crichton's face and taking the physical battle to the Penrith star.
"It was cool. Growing up he was an idol of mine," McLean told AAP.
"I played centre and he was the centre at Penrith. You kind of wanted to be like him. Going up against him was cool, as a little kid I was kind of just laughing.
"But he is the best centre in the comp for a reason and he's marked his territory there, but it was a chance to showcase myself."
Nathan Cleary's embrace of McLean at the end of that match was an iconic moment, with Penrith's superstar half making clear his pride in the 19-year-old.
"It was kind of personal, just because of how all the boys gave me a head's up of how he talks through a game," McLean recalled.
"I kind of put a challenge on myself personally. Just don't back down. But full credit to the player he is today - he has carved his path to the top for a reason."
That 8-6 win was seismic for more than just McLean.
Penrith's edge defence was shaky at best for the first half of the season as they crashed to last on the ladder in round 12 and selections chopped and changed.
But while Penrith's left edge received a working-over from the Bulldogs that night in June, they were also able to withstand the Canterbury right-side attack led by Crichton.
"It was a turning point," five-eighth Blaize Talagi said.
"That was a pretty big milestone in our left edge journey.
"We had our mid-season review after that game and we talked about why can't we do that and (be) better from now on.
"That's one of the best games I have been part of. They definitely threw a lot of traffic at us and Critta wanted to make his mark against us and we had our own."
Coach Ivan Cleary also praised McLean's effort from that night, noting it had given the young centre confidence.
Cleary has his own injury concerns to deal with ahead of Sunday, with hooker Mitch Kenny "tracking OK" to return from a hamstring injury against the Bulldogs.
Nathan Cleary has also trained and kicked all week, after a minor quad issue stopped him taking conversions against the Warriors last week.
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