Cameron Munster will be the key for Queensland on Wednesday night

Cameron Munster is expected to overcome a head knock to take centre stage for Queensland in the final State of Origin game

Cameron Munster at a sweltering training session for the Maroons on Sunday Picture: Scott Davis/QRL

Former Queensland coach Kevin Walters wandered up to Cameron Smith a few years back and wanted to know what was wrong with Cameron Munster.

The Storm five-eighth had been drafted into the Maroons side to make his State of Origin debut but fumbled his way through the early days of training.

Couldn't catch a pass. Kicks were all over the shop. Looked like the occasion had got the better of him. Munster was out of sorts and Walters was on edge.

So concerned was the coach he asked Smith what was doing with the Melbourne prodigy.

“I went up to Cameron Smith and said, ‘what’s going on with Munster’,” Walters recalled.

“He said, ‘don’t worry, he’s always like this’. Then he went out and played the game of his life.”

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That game, played more than three years ago, remains one of the most eye-catching debuts in Origin history. Munster ripped NSW to shreds as he finished with a pair of try assists.

An Origin star was born and memories of that occasion give Queensland supporters hope on Wednesday night. It was the last decider played at Suncorp Stadium and the last series win before the Origin pendulum swung back to NSW.

Munster made his debut alongside the greatest triumvirate in Origin history – Smith, Cooper Cronk and Bill Slater. The trio are now in the Origin rear vision mirror and the Maroons have lost successive series, although they head back to Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night with the chance to regain the ascendancy and shield.

Only a few thousand tickets remain, the crowd having been capped at 49,750 due to reduced capacity in the corporate suites to fit in with biosecurity guidelines.

Munster is one of the few players who bridge the divide between the greatest dynasty in Origin history and those hoping to match what feel like sepia-toned heroics given how fast things move in the modern game.

He has become the most indispensable player in a Queensland jersey, his value highlighted by the performance in Origin II, where he left the field after only two minutes on wobbly legs and the Maroons stumbled to defeat.

Munster has been restricted in training this week under concussion guidelines but the signs are promising that he will play. He will carry a state’s hopes on his shoulders if he does.

“I think it goes with the position,” Walters said.

“It’s a key position, particularly in today’s game. It has been since the day Wally Lewis ran on with a six on his back. He’s certainly got the skill set to be very dominant.

“But I don’t think he can do it all himself.”

Walters sought to ease the burden but you get the sense Munster welcomes the pressure. Soaks it up no doubt. Certainly Smith appeared to suggest as much in his recently-released autobiography as he spoke about his former teammate.

“You could tell straightaway that he had something special,” Smith wrote in The Storm Within.

“Just his ability to come up with plays when you needed it, without even having practised it — that innate ability to make something out of nothing — was impressive.

“We had a kid who knew the game, knew where he had to be, and was supremely confident.”

He had rough edges. Still does. The talent, however, was inescapable.

“Cameron’s a ratbag and we loved him for it,” Smith wrote.

“He enjoyed a good time away from footy but at times he went down the wrong path. The thing that was really good about him was that it never affected his footy.

“If he made a poor decision he was upfront and honest with everyone. If he wasn’t aware of his actions you would be concerned. He always genuinely cared for the club and his teammates.

“Whenever he was around training he was always doing something to help the team — it was never for his own benefit. But that didn’t mean he never needed to be pulled into line.

“A few times it was me who did that.”

Walters probably had to do it himself on occasions. He came to quickly appreciate Munster, those early nerves giving way to a player who showed an ability to dominate on the game’s greatest stage.

Queensland, and Walters, are counting on him doing just that.

“Munster is the sort of player who can really turn it on,” Walters said.

“He fits into (Origin) with his toughness and skill set. He’s right at home really. The stage is set for him to really light up the Origin arena.”