Munster's admission about late night Slater text after being named QLD captain
Cameron Munster has opened up about his shock appointment as Queensland captain and the late night text from coach Billy Slater that had him fearing the worst. The Maroons coach confirmed on Tuesday that Munster would succeed axed skipper Daly Cherry-Evans and lead the side in the must-win State of Origin Game 2 clash against the Blues in Perth on June 18.
Munster admits it's a bitter-sweet feeling taking over the captaincy from his 'close mate' DCE but is 'excited' to be handed the honour of leading his state. But the Storm playmaker said he thought Slater was ready to deliver some bad news when he texted Munster to have a late-night conversation at Maroons camp.
'At 9:30 last night Billy just messaged me saying 'are you around?'. I said 'yeah, I'm just sitting in my room' and he's like 'come to my room',' Munster told reporters on Tuesday. 'I was thinking 'what could this be about?' I could be getting dropped or maybe I'm 18th man or something like that.'
The news turned out to be better than Munster could have imagined, with Slater choosing the five-eighth to lead the state, ahead of other Maroons captaincy candidates Patrick Carrigan, Harry Grant and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui - the latter two of which are skippers at their clubs. 'Billy just brought me into the room, said 'look mate, I want you to be the captain for Queensland and I think you will do a great job',' he said.
'He pretty much just told me to lead by my actions, I don't need to be a talker or go out there and try to motivate the boys, they have enough motivation as it is.' Munster has always been regarded as a rugby league larrikin but has grown into a leadership role at Melbourne and is undeniably one of Queensland's most passionate and influential players. Even still, captaining his state is something he never imagined.
'It's pretty emotional, if you asked me that question five or ten years ago everyone would have laughed in your face,' Munster said. 'I think I have developed into a bit of a leadership role over the last three or four years, grown up a little bit. I know that's hard to say."
Munster says it's 'disappointing' to see his good friend Cherry-Evans axed from the side and feared replacement No.7 Tom Dearden might take his spot, instead of the former skipper's. 'He's been playing some great footy, unfortunately one of my good mates Chez had to be left out, he's breathing down both our necks, Tommy,' the new Maroons skipper said.
'We had to find a spot for him and look he's been playing some great footy the past couple of years... made that position his own for Australia. I'm really fortunate to play alongside him and I am really excited to see what combination we can bring on Wednesday.'
Slater looks set to make a number of eye-opening changes to his squad as they look to keep the Origin series alive in Perth. Having dropped Beau Fermor and brought Kurt Capewell into the squad, the Maroons coach has named the veteran Warriors player to start in the back row alongside Reuben Cotter, with Jeremiah Nanai shifting to the bench.
But the biggest shock centres around the demotion of veteran lock Carrigan, who has been named to start off the bench, with Slater handing the No.13 jersey to Storm star Trent Loeiro. Bulldogs utility Kurt Mann takes over the No.14 role from Dearden after missing out on Game 1 as 18th man, with that role set to go to controversial Brisbane playmaker, Ezra Mam. Jack Howarth and Corey Horsburgh are the other two reserves in the Maroons' 20-man squad.
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