Maroons rally around Cameron Munster to deliver one of Origin’s greatest ever comebacks

They did it once for Arthur Beetson. They did for Cam Smith. For Wally Lewis. And now for Cam Munster, the Queensland captain who overcame heartbreak to lead a Maroons miracle.

They did it once for Arthur Beetson. They did for Cam Smith. For Wally Lewis. And now for Cam Munster.

Is there anything in sport more potent than a Queensland State of Origin side rallying for a struggling mate?

The spirit of 1995 lives on … this was not simply one of the great Origin series wins but one of the most satisfying moments in Queensland sport this century.

Back in the 1980s a Queensland side was waiting on the bus after a training session when a subdued Arthur Beetson got on the team bus and said he had been snubbed for the Australian coaching spot. The Maroons of course romped to victory.

A decade ago the Maroons watched a 60 Minutes special where they felt Smith was stitched up and duly pounded NSW a few days later.

Cameron Smith was looked after by his Maroons teammates.

Artie Beetson, the Queenslander who helped start the Origin legend.

Last night, playing for their skipper Cam Munster whose father Steve died on Sunday, they again played like driven men.

It was a monumental achievement because passion and precision rarely go together. There’s endless examples in sport of players overcooking their emotions and falling into the trap of making small errors because they forgot to concentrate on the little things.

But Queensland channelled their emotion into the barely believable precision of making all 22 first half sets without a blemish.

After game one Queensland coach was being painted as a Bumbling Billy but he must now feel like William the Conqueror.

This is one of the great achievements of his career. After the first game shellacking at Suncorp Slater had to sack his captain, deal with the Aaron Woods sledging, the death of Cam Munster’s father.

And then he won. Amazing. This was a gloriously old fashioned Queensland win. It feels more special than the great run of a decade ago when Queensland won eight series in a row because back then they were expected to win. Not this time,

For two months the Queensland squad have been told stories about the anniversary of the 1995 series and then they went out and produced that sort of gargantuan upset. That sort of outrageous scrap. That bond of brothers type vibe.

The Maroons rallied around skipper Cameron Munster, who lost his father just days before the Origin decider. Picture: Getty Images

Coaches like to say to teams “give ‘em nothing.’’ This was the one time they followed orders not making a handling error until the 69th minute. Extraordinary.

This was a match which turned boys to men. Tom Dearden’s cover defence was superb. Rookie centres Robert Toia and Gehamat Shibasaki outplayed vaunted duo Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton.

There were so many little parts. Xavier Coates taking bombs. Josh Papali'i, the grand old warrior, steaming ahead time after time in his Origin farewell.

Cameron Munster after winning game three - and the 2025 series - in Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

Slater chose this side well by creating a few Hollywood themes to inspire his troops. Every move worked.

Several of the forwards have loved having Big Papa in camp. He told them he would not let them down and he didn’t.

Wayne Bennett used to say when Queensland won an important State of Origin match the sun shone a little brighter in Queensland the next morning.

Open the curtains folks … and don’t it look grand!

Originally published as Maroons rally around Cameron Munster to deliver one of Origin’s greatest ever comebacks