'I've never felt like this': Inside Maroons emotion-charged Origin triumph

Billy Slater had been involved in 10 previous winning Origin campaigns as a player or coach but after overseeing Queensland’s emotion charged 24-12 series deciding triumph, he declared: “I've never felt like this”.

Slater, who now has a 3-1 Origin coaching record, hugged Maroons captain Cameron Munster in a tearful embrace at full-time as they realised the enormity of what they had achieved on both a personal and historical level.

Munster had to deal with the loss of his father, Steven, on Sunday morning but just three days later he was holding aloft the Origin Shield after a series win to rival 1995’s “Neville Nobody’s” and 2020’s “Worst Team Ever” in Queensland folklore.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Slater said. “I've been proud of this group a number of times over the last four years, but I don’t know if I have been any prouder than tonight.

I don't like ranking things, but I've never felt like this.

"We had a few hurdles to overcome.”

Those obstacles included an emphatic 18-6 loss in Origin I which forced Slater’s men to become the first Maroons side to bounce back from defeat at home to win the next two games on the road.

Slater made some huge selection calls, including:

• Axing long serving captain Daly Cherry-Evans for Tom Dearden – the Wally Lewis Medallist as player of the series – as halfback after Origin I;
• Installing Munster as captain ahead of a number of club captains in the team;
• Recalling Warriors secondrower Kurt Capewell;
• Choosing Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow in a different position - centre to wing to fullback – for each game;
• Opting for two centres in the decider who weren’t even playing NRL last year in Roosters rookie Rob Toia and Broncos journeyman Gehamat Shibasaki, and;
• Sending an SOS call to Raiders veteran Josh Papalii for one "last ride" with the Maroons.

“I think the whole team and the whole coaching staff should feel so proud,” Munster said. “I have got so much trust in this team, so much love for this team.

“You look at guys like Reuben Cotter and Kurt Capewell, so many people were bagging us in the media about our backrowers; like "they're not backrowers, they miss tackles, they're not there".

“A couple of times Reuben jumped on the ball tonight and, as a true Queenslander, put his body on the line and saved a couple of tries - same with Kurt.

“People somehow just grow an extra leg wearing the jersey and it's just our coaching staff that instil that belief in us.”

However, Munster himself was the biggest inspiration for the win, with Maroons insiders saying they had never seen players regularly in tears during an Origin camp.

The Maroons coaching staff felt the players had been too emotional in Origin I and that resulted in a poor start, but this time their feelings for Munster lifted them to a special effort. 

The way the entire squad stood behind Slater as he delivered the news on Sunday that Munster had left camp to be with his grieving mother and sister in Rockhampton was a sign of how united they were in support of their skipper.

The players vowed not to just tell the star five-eighth what he meant to them, but to show him on the field.

They did that with an error free performance for 69 minutes and swarming defence that resulted in a first half shut out, while displaying more desperation to defy the statistics, which favoured the Blues in every category except the score.

"Obviously Munny was going through what he was going through, and as a playing group we knew that Munny was going to turn up and be ready for this game, so we just had to make sure we were all prepared for his return," Papalii said.

"I am so happy that we got the win for our skipper, and it just shows the special bond that we have just going together and doing everything together. That was the whole theme of this week."