State of Origin 2018: Cameron Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans bring new approach to take on NSW
CAMERON Munster will play in his fourth Origin match next week and in his third halves pairing — but the Maroons five-eighth said he and Daly Cherry-Evans were determined to make their combination work.
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CAMERON Munster has shouldered part of the responsibility for Queensland’s Origin series loss, as he prepares to strike up a new halves combination with Daly Cherry-Evans.
The Maroons five-eighth will play in his fourth Origin match next week and in his third halves pairing after Ben Hunt was dumped to the bench ahead of the clash at Suncorp Stadium.
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Hunt came under heavy criticism for his decision-making in the final 10 minutes of Origin II, when NSW had just 12 players on the field following the sin-binning of James Roberts.
But Munster said it was the worst 10 minutes Queensland has played as a whole and it showed him that he also needs to be better in key moments.
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“I’m pretty excited with the rise I’ve had at five-eighth but I know I’ve got some things to work on, like those key moments,” he said.
“In Game Two, it pretty much lost us the game when Jimmy Roberts got sent for 10. We should have really capitalised on that opportunity and we didn’t.
“It was the worst five or 10 minutes of the game we’ve ever played.
“If it happens again, we have to take a deep breath and be patient and me and Daly have to take the reins and steer our troops around and be more diligent with what we do.”
Munster said he felt for Hunt but could also understand why Cherry-Evans had been brought in given the game was a dead rubber and he had been in good form for Manly.
Queensland will hold their first training session on Thursday and Munster is keen to see what he and the Sea Eagles skipper can do together.
He said it’s tough that he doesn’t get to develop his partnership with Hunt, but Cherry-Evans had already started talking to him about what had to be done.
“He’s been here before and he’s done it before,” Munster said of Cherry-Evans.
“It’s going to be a little bit tough (starting a new combination) with DCE but he’s working really hard.
“We spoke a little bit about how we want to play and we’re really excited for what he’ll bring.”
Cherry-Evans said he would do everything he could to bring Munster into the game where he saw fit.
“I think we can have a nice combination actually,” Cherry-Evans said.
“I played a lot of second receiver last year for Manly so I’d like to think I know how Cam wants to play.
“I think I know where he wants the ball and in what situations he wants the ball. I think I can facilitate Cam well in the game plan and hopefully I can make the whole team gel and that’s part of my job.”
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Originally published as State of Origin 2018: Cameron Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans bring new approach to take on NSW