State of Origin 2017: Why Cameron Munster won’t be overawed by Origin III

HE might be on debut in the decider, but there’s no doubt Maroons five-eighth Cameron Munster is a good piece of meat.

Picture on hold — Contact Courier Mail Picture Desk for use. Queensland State of Origin player Cameron Munster in his kit ready for game 3, Rydges Hotel, South Brisbane. Photographer: Liam Kidston.

CAMERON Munster has a tattoo of a steak on his hip.

We’ll talk about that a bit later.

First, let’s decipher how someone who was overlooked for every representative team throughout high school is replacing Johnathan Thurston in the famous Queensland No. 6 jersey.

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Munster oozes confidence, not arrogance. There is a certain bravado about him that shows how he has overcome the odds to run out for the Maroons in the State of Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium.

At just 22 he will step into the shoes of a man many regard as the greatest rugby league player ever. Not that you would know that by talking to him.

Munster will make his Origin debut in the most ruthless environment possible.

“It doesn’t really faze me to be honest with you,” Munster told The Courier-Mail.

“I’m not Johnathan Thurston. I never will be. I have to be myself and play my game. I’ve just got to back myself.

“I love playing football and it’s a lifelong dream to play for Queensland and I get to do it.

“I’m very proud of how far I’ve come and my family is proud of me as well.

“To wear the Queensland jersey in a decider in Brisbane … there is no bigger stage in rugby league for me.”

Munster’s rise to the Maroons No. 6 throne once held by Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer and Thurston is a story of rejection, determination and opportunity.

He was once told by talent scouts he was soft. Now, his eyes glass over when you ask him what it’s like to be called “tough” by Storm and Maroons teammates Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk — three greats of the game.

Munster will form an all-Melbourne spine with his Storm teammates.

“To have the word ‘tough’ tossed around by my peers really hits me,” Munster said.

“I try to put my body on the line and do whatever it takes for our team to win. If that means throwing my head in places I shouldn’t be, then that’s what I’ll do.

“It was really humbling to be told I was tough. I just want to be a player that my teammates want to play with.”

Munster is battle-hardened and prepared for whatever NSW throws at him, because he has taken the long road to the top.

He gave up trialling for representative teams throughout his junior years in Rockhampton when the constant rejections became too much.

He watched friends get signed by NRL clubs as he toiled away for zero recognition.

It wasn’t until the CQ Capras went through an injury crisis in 2012 that Munster’s opportunity arrived and ex-Maroons hardman Jason Hetherington thrust him into the Intrust Super Cup as a 17-year-old.

Munster burst on the scene in 2014, replacing an injured Billy Slater.

“Jason Hetherington told me he is the toughest kid he’s ever seen,” says Melbourne Storm recruitment manager Paul Bunn.

“We saw a bit in him that others didn’t. We thought there was more to him.

“We signed him for $5000 and he had to work in the club in our membership department.

“He was making phone calls and going on membership drives. It taught him how to appreciate things.”

Munster seized his first opportunity at the Capras and snuck into Melbourne’s highly successful development system.

He made his NRL debut in 2014 but it wasn’t until the following year that his career took off when Slater suffered the first of what would be a near career-ending run of shoulder injuries.

The Storm looked cooked after Round 1 of 2016 when Slater went down again but a 21-year-old Munster helped them to the grand final.

Now, with Thurston’s Origin career over and Game One five-eighth Anthony Milford injured, he is ready to make the most of his latest opportunity.

Can Munster do the job?

“When they give you an opportunity you’ve got to take it with both hands,” he says.

“That’s what I need to do. I need to show the Maroons and our state that I can do the job.

“Hopefully I play well and show I’m capable of staying in this squad.

“There is a lot of pressure and challenges but I’ll do my best for the state and play my role for this team.”

Munster has excelled in every challenge he’s faced throughout his career.

The players say Origin is a different beast but Munster’s elevation into the team has come with the blessing of Smith, the 41-game veteran who was influential in his selection at five-eighth.

“I don’t think Cameron needs to change his game,” Smith says.

“You talk to the guys who have played against him at club level and they say how strong he is and how hard he is to bring down. We want him to take that threat to NSW and see how they handle it.

“It’s about him being prepared mentally for the intensity and pace of the game but I am sure he’s up to it. He will handle it.”

Now back to that tattoo.

Munster’s steak tattoo.

“There were four of us from the club (Joe Stimson, Christian Welch and Dean Britt) who lived in a house in Port Melbourne and we thought we were good quality meat so we decided to call it The Porterhouse,” Munster says with a grin.

“When I wake up every morning I see the tattoo. I don’t regret the tattoo. It has a lot of memories for me.

“But I’ve grown up a little bit now. I just want to play good football for this state.”

Remember that confidence we told you about?