Munster targets 3-0 to give NSW ‘a terrible time’

Joel Gould | June 22, 2023

Cameron Munster has caused NSW plenty of grief throughout his career, now he wants to increase the pain and replicate the State of Origin feats of the great 2010 Queensland side.

As the Maroons No.6 celebrated Wednesday’s 32-6 win over the Blues at Suncorp Stadium that secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, Munster had one eye on game three in Sydney on July 12 and becoming part of the fifth Queensland team to record an Origin clean sweep.

“The boys are going to go hard. We want a 3-0 whitewash,” Munster said.

“It hasn’t been done since 2010. We can rewrite history and make it a terrible time for NSW.

“It would be a massive achievement for everyone here to do something that hasn’t been done in 13 years. We are ready to rock and roll.

“We will go down there to Sydney and make sure we do everything we can to make it a whitewash.”

The Maroons won eight series in a row from 2006-2013 but only once in that time did they complete a clean sweep.

That 2010 side was captained by Darren Lockyer, now a Queensland selector.

Current Maroons coach Billy Slater and his assistants Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Nate Myles were all key members of the team.

The other occasions Queensland have whitewashed the Blues came in 1988, 1989 and 1995.

Munster, whose voice was still hoarse an hour after Wednesday’s match, said NSW would be desperate on their home turf and the Maroons would have to continue to improve to win.

“It is not going to be easy. Tonight was an absolute cracker,” he said.

“I felt like at times we didn’t have control of the game but the scoreline blew out. It was a good performance by the lads. Everyone worked hard.

“Some of the boys are still losing their breath. I have lost my voice. It just shows how hard it is out there.”

Munster thrives in pressure-cooker situations but said he was relieved to have finally won game two of a series at his sixth attempt. 

Throughout his 17-game Origin career he has been red-hot in game one and in game three.

“I broke the hoodoo about not winning a game two and I am very happy about that,” he said.

“It is very exciting. I’ve never had this opportunity to be 2-0 up in a series, so going to Sydney with the series sewn up is something very special.”