Maroons rise for Munster with magic and muscle

Joel Gould | July 9, 2025

Queensland wanted to do the Munster family proud with a display for the ages in the State of Origin decider and they delivered one of the great performances in heroic fashion.

The 24-12 win in Sydney came after the tragic loss of captain Cameron Munster’s father Steven just days before. The script was written for a brave and historic 2-1 series win to unfold and the players all played their parts to perfection. 

There were heavy hearts in the leadup but what the Maroons required more than anything to honour their captain’s braveheart decision to play was to get their game on.

They were on alright and showed just how much Munster, the team and the state of Queensland means to them.

The Maroons are the masters of the Origin decider. It simply means more to them. That is why they have won 10 of the last 12. The Blues choke in the big moments. The Maroons lift, and they lift to a man. 

The win was also a 45-year first for the Maroons as they had never won two Origin games in a row on the road to win a series after losing the first match.

Queensland completed 21 of 21 sets in the first half to lead 20-0. It was perfect Origin footy.

Munster was magnificent. He ran when he needed to, passed at the right time and his kicking was on point. The same goes for his halves partner Tom Dearden who was just incredible in a two-try display and defence of steel.

Coach Billy Slater and his fellow selectors made two bold calls for the decider with centre Gehamat Shibasaki given a debut and veteran prop Josh Papalii recalled. Both calls worked a treat.

Shibasaki had a few nervous moments in defence early but rose to the occasion in the key moment to put winger Xavier Coates over to score the first try. His big body, big skill and big heart came to the fore in a stellar debut.

The masterstroke of shifting Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to fullback bore fruit. The man known as Hammer is always alive in an attacking set and so it proved to be again in broken play to put Dearden away.

Queensland adopted a rushing defence to shut down the NSW attack and it worked a treat. The Blues had 68 per cent of the territory but the Maroons were brick walls to record a series win up there with the famous 1995 and 2020 victories.

It was also a reminder just how good Slater is as a coach in his third series win out of four. He was the mastermind behind his team’s stunning achievement.