‘Fraud': Blues scammed by unrecognisable superstar in series-tying loss
Let history show there was only one fraud responsible for ensuring an Origin decider in 2025 - and it wasn't Ashley Klein.
Cameron Munster's infectious performance in game two will not only be remembered as one of the great playmaker's knocks, but also the biggest scam in Origin history.
Why?
Not because the Maroons barely eked home on sloppy Blues goalkicking, nor because Klein blew the whistle so often he was mistaken for a car alarm.
Nope, it's because Munster did the Blues dirty with a shock new routine - the ability to dominate in Priest Mode.
In horrific news for NSW, the captain's role has unlocked a new aspect of Munster that's as level-headed as it is two-faced.
Announced as the state's new leader last week, Munster as a Maroons father figure was always bound to conflict with the bottle blonde tomcat we've come to know in so many larrikin grabs and grainy viral videos.
But when he presented with a chill steeliness and clean shaven face at his unveiling, we were witnessing the beginning of the transition in real time.
Then when he fronted multiple media calls throughout the week in full dad mode and team uniform - and not just to crack zingers or issue a public apology - he was truly unrecognisable.
But once Munster lead by example on the paddock in a man of the match performance, not only had he fully transformed in to one of those testimonials on a Tony Robbins self help manual, he'd also confirmed his appointment a rousing success.
Sure, it's too early to elevate the new skipper to the bar alongside esteemed types like Baron Cameron Smith, especially after he confirmed his latent larrikinism by slipping a cheeky F-bomb in the post-match interview like a verbal wink in a hostage video.
However, the 30 year old proved Wednesday night that the weight of responsibility won't hamper the spring in his step.
Just because he was Danny Tanner all week and held a stridently earnest pre-match interview with Johnathan Thurston on the team bus didn't mean he'd also play his footy like a sitcom dad.
And just because he openly professed his love for the coach in the post-match press conference without being six beers deep doesn't mean he'll lose his playful edge either.
Credit where it's due, Billy Slater has made his fair share of boofheaded decisions this series but he's absolutely nailed this one to the wall.
With the series on the line, the coach was under stifling pressure to pull the right rein on Daly Cherry-Evans' replacement at skipper, lest be underlined as the first Queensland coach sunk by Aaron Woods.
But when he ignored a raft of club captains to anoint Munster as captain, many believed he'd confused the state role with the social club.
For all his mercurial brilliance, the Storm talisman has been widely celebrated as the Dally Messenger of good times, a free spirit whose rhinocerene appetite for a beer is matched only by his love of a poor decision.
Who could forget when he was sin binned in the 2018 grand final for kicking? Or when he was banned for 12 months by the QRL in 2016 for breaking curfew at an Emerging Origin camp?
Conversely, what about playing a leading hand in the 2020 series victory after fronting the team photo looking like he'd just served a 12 week sentence in the Milton brewery?
Munster has always saddled the line between professional and playboy, a position that reached a crossroads in 2021 when he was sprung on film mucking up on the Gold Coast with Brandon Smith.
When it comes to selecting a new skipper, there's no scarier trio of terms on a CV than 'unidentified white powder', 'Gold Coast' and 'The Cheese' - but Slater still bravely gambled on his five-eighth and its come up trumps.
Sure, we've all seen similar glimpses of Reverend Munster in recent times as he abandoned the bottle and the extra pounds, albeit the latter only because his wife jibed him about his muffin top.
But his performance to save the series proves this captaincy caper could catapult his influence in Origin further towards Wally-esque areas.
And all they had to do was shave him down and let him flip the coin.
- Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He's never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.
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