With the Maroons clinging to a six-point lead in the final 10 minutes of the home state opener, Brad Fittler’s Blues were throwing the kitchen sink to their opponents.
The crowd of 80,000 at Accor Stadium repeatedly sang “New South Wales” and the Blues made regular raids in the middle of the Maroons’ pitch.
In the 74th minute, Blues debutant Stephen Crichton, who has scored fun rehearsals for the past two seasons with the Panthers colors, tried to dodge Cameron Munster on his way to the try line.
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The only problem was that Munster, a veteran of the Origin who was now in his sixth season, took a step forward and took the ball out of the hands of the 21-year-old, returning possession to the Maroons.
It was an important play by a great player, and left those who were more than accustomed to their own clutch plays stunned.
Cameron Munster was a one-man demolition team in the second half, as the Maroons got a famous victory (Getty)
“There are 90,000 people in the stadium, only one person would think so,” exclaimed Blues icon Andrew Johns on Nine’s cover.
“When you’re 10 meters from your line under pressure, who wouldn’t even think of doing it? That’s a superstar. What a player.”
Former Munster club representative and captain Cameron Smith was equally surprised.
“These big plays here, it’s 12 yards from the Queensland Test Line, who’s thinking of doing that?” He said.
“I know Stephen Crichton wasn’t, I didn’t expect Cameron Munster to take possession of the ball. When he has the ball in his hand he only hypnotizes the defenders.”
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Munster finished the game with 19 runs, 188 yards won and eight breaks, and was named man of the match, earning comparisons to the great Wally Lewis in the process for his iconic Origin I performance.
“He’s approaching (Lewis) with his way of playing,” Maroons icon Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin told Nine.
“He is an instinctive player, like Wally Lewis. Wally was not structured by any imagination, but he was instinctive, and so was Cameron Munster.
“He and Kalyn Ponga, when they do what they do, that’s when good things happen for Queensland.”
Munster, like his teammates, ran out of air in the moments after the final whistle, having struggled all the tendons to take a 1-0 lead over Perth for the second game.
Munster holds one of the rehearsals for the second part of the Maroons with Daly Cherry-Evans, Felise Kaufusi and Kalyn Ponga (Getty)
“It’s going to be one of the toughest games I’ve ever played,” he told the post-Nine game panel.
“There are no penalties in the first or many in the second and it is noticeable in the way I speak, I am still trying to catch my breath.
“This is the best of Origin, how fast the game is.”
Part of Munster’s brilliance comes from his ability to combine uncontrolled football with a structured and disciplined game, which allows him to run for an opposing defense at any time. The ability to combine the two is a trait he has acquired over time, according to Smith.
“It’s an element of his game that has improved over the last two years, where he’s put a little bit of structure around (his game),” said icon Storm.
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“He’s always the most dangerous when he plays outside the fist. He just gets the ball, he looks up, and if he sees an opportunity or a way to run the ball, he runs it.
“He has the ability to hold the ball with both hands, he is shown above, he is shown below, he shows the inside again to support and the defenders just look at the ball.
“I think this is a part of his game that has improved a lot over the last two years, especially in my last season in 2020, he went to another level. He’s matured a lot, he’s had a great low season and he’s getting the rewards for it right now. “
Having played a heroic role in the Maroons ’unlikely victory in 2020, Munster already have a Wally Lewis medal in their possession. He continues like this and will leave Suncorp Stadium after the third game with his second.
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