Angry Munster’s challenge to Blues: Come out and take me on
Maroons magic man Cameron Munster has challenged NSW to target him and says he is “burning” to save the series on Sunday night at the Suncorp field of dreams where he has never lost an Origin game.
The Blues are raging favourites to reclaim the Origin shield following their 50-6 cakewalk in Origin I but they must first clear a major hurdle – trumping the unbeaten Munster on Suncorp soil.
First there was Wally Lewis. Now the talismanic Munster has become the new-age Emperor of Lang Park, with the Maroons five-eighth having a perfect record at Suncorp, having won all four Origin matches since his Queensland debut in 2017.
Several Blues will still carry scar tissue from the biggest series boilover in Origin’s 41-year history last season, when Munster ran riot in the Suncorp decider, producing a man-of-the-match display in 20-14 victory that decided the series.
Munster is desperate to atone for his Game One debacle in Townsville, ready to bury his kick on NSW rival Liam Martin and his nagging foot injury at the Suncorp venue that represents his personal Origin playground.
“I don’t know how to explain that one,” Munster says of his Origin dominance at Suncorp. But I’ve had a lot of success at Suncorp. I’ve been lucky with the games I’ve played there.
“They will be targeting me on Sunday but I’m confident I can go out there and weather the Storm and do what I have always done.
Munster’s record at Suncorp is formidable.
He has tasted success in all four of his Origin games at Suncorp and dominated the series.
It began with one of the greatest debuts in Origin history in 2017, when Munster starred in the No.6 jumper, setting up two tries, amassing five tackle busts and running for 136 metres in a 22-6 win which sent Cameron Smith out a winner.
Munster helped Queensland to a face-saving 18-12 win in the Suncorp dead rubber the following year, before playing a key role in the Maroons’ fightback to edge out NSW 18-14 in Game One of the 2019 series.
Then came his Suncorp high point last year, toying with the Blues in the 20-14 upset which saw him clinch the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series.
Now Munster, who plays his 12th Origin game on Sunday night, is hungry for more success, angered by his ill-disciplined performance in the series opener in Townsville.