“It’s just as big as when Wayne removed Wally from the Broncos,” rugby league Immortal Mal Meninga declared when Queensland coach Billy Slater dumped captain and halfback Daly Cherry-Evans for State of Origin II.
In reality, it’s not.
As tough and significant as it was, Slater’s decision barely rates in comparison to the media coverage and fallout that followed when Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett took the captaincy from Wally Lewis in 1989.
Lewis reckons Bennett was under pressure from the Broncos board because the team wasn’t performing and he became the scapegoat.
Others have suggested it was a power struggle between two giants of the game while reports from the time suggest Lewis was enjoying himself too much off the field.
Out of respect to Lewis, Bennett has never gone into great detail about why he sacked one of the game’s greatest players.
What’s important to remember is that Bennett’s bold decision didn’t just define his career but proved to be a masterstroke: Lewis left the club with a year to run on his contract and the
Broncos won back-to-back titles in 1992-93.
Eyeballing a consecutive series defeats, Slater hopes that a brave call like sacking Cherry-Evans and handing the captaincy to Cameron Munster can shift the momentum away from NSW.
It worked for Bennett then. Can it work for Slater now? The word out of the Queensland camp following the 18-6 game-one loss at Suncorp Stadium was the coaching staff wasn’t happy with the effort and energy displayed by some of its senior players leading into the game.
It would explain, in part, the Maroons’ flat performance and Slater’s subsequent call to sack Cherry-Evans while handing the captaincy to Munster for Wednesday night’s must-win match at Optus Stadium in Perth.
At 36, Cherry-Evans’ time was ending. He was picked on reputation, not form — the good old pick-and-stick.
But he was disposable, especially when Slater had a ready-made replacement in young North Queensland half Tom Dearden, who has been part of the squad since game three in 2022.
If sacking Cherry-Evans looked like the panicked move of a coach under pressure, the selection of Munster as captain is an inspired one.
The extra responsibility won’t hinder Munster. Instead, he’ll rise to it. He hasn’t been Queensland’s worst player in the last three losses, but he hasn’t been their best and that’s unusual.
He relishes a challenge. In the first match of the 2022 series, Queensland were as much underdogs then as they are now.
Munster carried them to a 22-12 victory that night, playing the off-the-cuff football that’s become his signature.
In the post-match wash-up, his dominance was compared to that of Lewis; another Queensland five-eighth putting NSW firmly back in their box.
There’s a perception Munster is the loosest of cannons; an instinctive player who solely plays what’s in front of him. The way he plays is a manifestation of his life off the field.
He embraces the theory, declaring his mind is best represented by a toy monkey clashing cymbals together.
Slater, who played with Munster at the Storm, has told me previously told me it’s a con.
“The perception is he only plays what he sees,” he said during the 2022 series. “There are situations on the field you look at and go, ‘Wow, that was just an opportunity and he took it’. He’s that sort of player. If something happens, he can react with the best of them. But he knows the game really well, he cares about his footy.
“He’s not just a loose guy who goes out and plays. You can’t be a consistent footballer doing that. You need some structure and preparation to your performance. So be careful about the
perception: he has care for his football.”
Slater is in a unique position as Munster’s coach because he also played with him at Melbourne.
When he was sidelined with a shoulder reconstruction, Munster filled in at fullback. When he returned, Munster had to learn how to play five-eighth, including how to throw an accurate pass.
In many respects, they share the same mindset. As a player, Slater would try the most audacious plays on the field, often to the irritation of captain Cameron Smith and coach Craig
Bellamy. Munster is similar. They’re risk takers who quickly move on from a mistake.
Which makes Munster’s elevation to the Queensland captaincy even more intriguing.
Slater could have taken the safe bet of choosing Patty Carrigan, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, or Harry Grant, who captains the Storm for whom Munster is vice-captain.
It’s clear, though, the coach didn’t want a statesman but a player who will drag his team along with him. A captain like Wally Lewis.
Leadership came naturally to the King. He captained the Maroons in 30 of the 31 Origins he played, tormenting NSW in most of them although one match stands out from the rest: game two of the 1989 series at the Sydney Football Stadium, played just months before Bennett stripped him of the Broncos captaincy.
In the first half, the Maroons lost Allan Langer with a broken leg, Mal Meninga with a fractured eye socket and Paul Vautin with an elbow injury. In the second, Michael Hancock came off with a bad shoulder while Bob Lindner continued to play with a
fractured ankle because his side had no reserves.
Lewis was at his stubborn best, snarling each time he touched the ball. In his mind, losing wasn’t an option. His try in the corner from an arcing run from the 40-metre line is one of the most famous in Origin history.
So far in this series, Queensland have been very un-Queensland. Didn’t kick to Spencer Leniu — very un-Queensland. Lost a series-opener at Suncorp Stadium — very un-Queensland. Dropped their captain and halfback mid-series — very un-Queensland.
Winning a match few expect them to win with the player wearing the No.6 jumper leading the way — that’s about as Queensland as it gets.
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