‘Through a brick wall’: how Munster carries the torch
Words of wisdom from Queensland greats will be front of mind for Cameron Munster when he captains the team in a home State of Origin decider for the first time.
Cameron Munster is ready to run through brick walls and carry the torch for the greats of the game that went before him in the State of Origin decider.
The Queensland skipper, who has surely been the side’s best player of the past decade, feels a deep debt to legends Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater who finished their Origin careers as he was starting out.
“We’ve had some really good players come through and really bled for the jersey,” Munster said.
“Smithy, Coops, Bill and JT. They’ve been great for the game, pouring their blood out for the Maroon jersey, and they instilled the belief and confidence in us that we can go out there and be like them.
“I was definitely very lucky that when I got my chance on debut in Brisbane (in 2017), I had JT looking after me in camp. They put that belief in you.
“When you have guys like that and Bill in the coaching staff telling you how good you can be and how good we are if we get it all right, it just makes you want to run through a brick wall.
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“We’ll be doing that on Wednesday, and hopefully, we’re on the other end, holding up the shield.”
Munster has owned the 2020s on the Origin stage, winning four of five series since 2020 when he won the Wally Lewis medal under Wayne Bennett.
He missed the 2024 series, won by NSW, because of an injury.
Munster shone on Origin debut at No.6 in the 2017 decider, when he replaced an injured Thurston in a 22-6 win at Suncorp Stadium.
Thurston subsequently hung up the representative boots, while Munster’s debut was Smith and Cronk’s last game for the Maroons.
Slater, now coaching Queensland, played his last Origin game in the 2018 decider.
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Munster, set to play his 24th Origin match, was a late bloomer and a wild child as a youngster but he has grown into the captaincy.
If a young Munster in Rockhampton had been told he would be in this position, he would not have believed it.
“I probably would have told them they were mad, to be fair,” he grinned.
“As a young kid coming through, I wasn’t touted as the next Wally Lewis or Cameron Smith.
“But I worked on my game … the older I got, the taller I got, and I guess this ended up falling into place for me.
“It’s nice to be mentioned with those kinds of greats, but I haven’t done anything yet.”
Wearing the iconic No.6 donned by Lewis, Darren Lockyer and Thurston before him means a lot, but there is one more box to tick.
Munster has almost done it all in his career but is yet to captain Queensland in a Suncorp Stadium decider.
“I don’t think you can get a better thrill,” the 31 year old said.
“It will probably top everything, to be fair.
“To have the ‘c’ next to my name for the first time at home, especially in a decider … it’s something you dream about as a kid.
“I’ve had a great record in that (Origin decider) space, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to get us over the line.”
– AAP
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