Nathan Cleary is ready to conquer Suncorp Stadium

Nathan Cleary has had few reasons to celebrate at Suncorp Stadium but he is finally ready to exorcise his demons.

Nathan Cleary stretches for the ball at Blues training.

Cameron Munster has never lost a State of Origin game at Suncorp Stadium. Nathan Cleary has never won one — and his record scarcely gets any better in club football.

Cleary, the golden boy for the Blues, has a loathsome record at the Cauldron. He won his first game of club football at the ground and then went five games without another victory. Rather than a theatre of dreams, it has been the stuff of nightmares.

Club football has been kinder in the past two years — he has won his past three games for Penrith at the ground — but it has remained a barren wasteland at Origin level.

In three matches for NSW, Cleary only boasts one try assist. He hasn’t registered a line break or a line break assist. He has had four errors in his past two games. He has been schooled by the Maroons but he arrives on Sunday night off the back of a victory in Townsville that has infused the NSW side with confidence.

Cleary was among the Blues best a fortnight ago as they humbled Queensland but if there is a mountain to climb, it is Suncorp Stadium on Origin night.

Munster may be the King of Suncorp but Cleary can finally take his crown on Sunday night as he stares down one of the few grounds that has brought him undone since he made his first grade debut.

It hasn’t just proved beyond Cleary for that matter. Conquering Suncorp has proved elusive for the entire Blues squad given their woeful record at the venue in recent years.

“It would be great to win the series, that’s for sure,” NSW adviser Greg Alexander said.

“To be able to do it in Townsville and at Suncorp, where the core of this side hasn’t won yet, that would certainly mean something.

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“They are all prepared for what does face them at Suncorp on Sunday night. It’s a massive challenge on Sunday night. I am expecting a bounce back from Queensland.”

If that is to happen, Munster will be key. The Queensland No 6 had one of the worst Origin games of his career in Townsville a fortnight ago but is determined to bounce back and save the series for the Maroons.

Munster is desperate to atone for his torment in Townsville as he returns to his personal Origin playground.

“I don’t know how to explain that one,” Munster says of his Origin dominance at Suncorp.

“But I’ve had a lot of success at Suncorp. I’ve been lucky with the games I’ve played there. It’s where I play my best football.

“They will be targeting me on Sunday but I’m confident I can go out there and weather the Storm and do what I have always done in previous games at Suncorp.”

Munster’s record at Suncorp is formidable. Not only has he tasted success in all four of his Origin games at the stadium, he has been a dominant figure in the victories.

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It began with one of the greatest debuts in Origin history in 2017, when Munster starred in the No 6 jumper, setting up two tries, amassing five tackle busts and running for 136 metres in a 22-6 win which sent Cameron Smith out a winner.

Munster helped Queensland to a face-saving 18-12 win in the Suncorp dead rubber the following year, before playing a key role in the Maroons’ fightback to edge out NSW 18-14 in opening game of the 2019 series.

Then came his Suncorp high point last year, toying with the Blues in the 20-14 upset which saw him clinch the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series.

Now Munster, who plays his 12th Origin game on Sunday night, is hungry for more success, angered by his ill-disciplined performance in the series opener in Townsville.

“It’s a bit of a burning feeling,” he said.

“I have never been beaten by that much in my career. No-one showed any desire in that game, so we need to make sure we show more passion in this game.

“Their halves (Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary) played a lot better than us, so personally I am ready for that battle.

“I’m 100 per cent now. I don’t like to make too many excuses but I had a month out of footy and was expected to play my best footy in my first game back in Origin.

“My ambitions probably got mixed up with my emotions. I need to make sure I get myself right. I’m 100 per cent fit, I can’t complain, so there’s no excuses.

“I’m ready to go.”