'He's going to need them': Munster return to inspire Maroons in decider

Maroons coach Billy Slater believes the return of captain Cameron Munster after the sudden passing of his father, Steven, will inspire his team-mates in Wednesday night’s Origin decider at Accor Stadium.

Munster rejoined the Queensland camp in Sydney on Tuesday after rushing to Rockhampton on Sunday to be with his mother Debbie and sister Danielle.

However, Slater said Munster had never considered missing the chance to lead the Maroons to an historic Origin series win.

“There was a fair bit of uncertainty with Mun on Sunday morning when I was sitting in his room, but the one thing he was certain about … he was very certain that he was playing on Wednesday night,” Slater said.

“That's one thing that he was very firm with. He didn't have a lot of answers for a lot of other things, but he gave that one to me pretty straight.”

There is little doubt that Steven Munster - a stalwart of the Rockhampton sporting community and Australian indoor cricket representative - would have wanted his son to play.

, Steven spoke of his desire to see Cameron lead the Maroons to their first series triumph in which they had to win back-to-back games away from Queensland.

“I haven't dealt with this as a coach, but I've dealt with it as a person. I lost my father in January, so I know what it's like,” Slater said.

“Cam's an inspiration for many people, he's a hero to many people in Queensland, and I can only imagine his dad would have been his first inspiration and his first hero.

“He'd be hurting right now and that's why he needs us, and he needs his family.

“There's no textbook for this sort of stuff, you've got to be making sure that you're touching on the human element of it, which we are, and his priority was to be with his family.

“Now he wants to come back into the camp and get ready for a State of Origin game. It's a huge game and he wants to be a part of that.”

Despite the somber mood within the Queensland camp on Sunday, Slater said the players had trained well and were focused on regaining the Origin Shield after losing last year’s series decider at Suncorp Stadium.

He was confident that the presence of Munster – man-of-the-match in the 26-24 Origin II win at Perth’s Optus Stadium - would lift the Maroons for the Sydney showdown.

“Naturally they care for Cam. He's a good mate of all of us and first and foremost we feel for him, and we feel for his family in tragic circumstances.

“I'm sure it'll give them a huge boost to see their mate going through something that you only go through once in your life - losing your father. I'm sure it's going to have a huge impact on them.

“It's been a great preparation apart from the obvious, and that took priority for a portion of the preparation, which it should have.

“Outside of that, the guys are locked into their game and it's just about getting our game on.

“It was a credit to them the way that they could go out and continue their preparation, because at the end of the day their skipper's going to need them on Wednesday night.”