State of Origin: Munster won’t be overawed by pressure of decider

Queensland debutant Cameron Munster won’t be overawed by the State of Origin decider.

Queensland and NSW more often find themselves at loggerheads around State of Origin but players and coaches were in agreement on at least one thing yesterday — ­Maroons debutant Cameron Munster won’t be overawed by the prospect of a series decider at a sold-out Suncorp Stadium.

Munster has been thrust into the Origin arena ahead of time, his debut in the famed No 6 jersey coming after Johnathan Thurston was ruled out with a shoulder problem. The Maroons have had a history of influential figures playing five-eighth and the expectation is that Munster will accept the baton and run with it.

“Cameron played in a grand final last year, albeit a losing one, and likewise with Ben Hunt,” Queensland coach Kevin Walters said. “We expect them to handle the situation. Players are different today from 10 or 12 years ago. They can handle the expectation on them and they love the challenge. It’s just the way they are built these days. He’s got a great combination with the other Storm players in the team and he’s been in our system too — the Emerging (Maroons) camp — for quite some time.”

Munster’s ascent to Origin has been helped by the presence of a handful of his club teammates. ­Importantly, they occupy positions in the team which impact the most on his game.

While the presence of Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith should ease the burden on Munster, it also means the ­Maroons will have at their disposal the Storm spine which has taken the club to the top of the ladder.

“I think if Smith and Cronk and Slater weren’t there, they might have gone another way,” NSW coach Laurie Daley said.

“With those guys there he will feel really familiar with the ­systems. He is a good young ­player. He is a really strong ball runner and some of the things he does on a footy field are freakish.

“He is someone we have actually spoken a lot about and he is going to be a threat.”

Centre Josh Dugan added: “He is a bit of a freak to be honest. It just goes to show that to be playing in the spine of Melbourne the way he has been, he is a special talent.

“He is a tough player to handle. He normally beats a few blokes here and there and we will have to be wary of him.”

As well as the Blues expect Munster to equip himself, they ­arrive at Suncorp Stadium with their confidence strengthened by memories of their win at the venue six weeks ago.

Importantly, captain Boyd Cordner will play after taking part in the captain’s run yesterday. Daley conceded there may be a question mark over whether his skipper can play 80 minutes given his troublesome calf.

“I think if (Cordner) played half a game, that’d be great for us,” Daley said. “But he’s going in with all the intentions of playing 80 (minutes). Whether he gets through 80 or not in terms of fitness, that’ll be yet to be decided.

“But the thing about our team is we’ve got plenty of backrowers that do play 80 minutes for their teams and we’ve been sharing the workload around with those other players. If he needed a spell, we’d be able to give him one because we’ve got a lot of depth there.”

Cordner’s presence is a boost not only for the Blues, but also for halfback Mitchell Pearce. The Roosters No 7 will take to Suncorp Stadium with a point to prove as he attempts to finally win a series as the Blues’ chief playmaker.

Cordner’s reassuring leadership is likely to be a calming presence for not just Pearce, but the entire team. “He’s good,” Daley said of Pearce. “You can’t control what people think or say and they’re entitled to their opinion. Mitch is just a kid who as long as he has the right support around him, and is hearing things from the right people, everything else externally he doesn’t need to listen to.”