NSW player's beautiful move in Origin 3 after loss of Cameron Munster's father
Munster left State of Origin camp to be with his family earlier in the week, but returned for the captain's run. And the newly appointed Queensland captain was instrumental in leading his side to a historic Game 3 win.
There were emotional scenes after the game with Munster sharing tears with Queensland coach and friend Billy Slater in scenes that will be remembered in Origin folklore. And in a show of class, To'o also dedicated a message to Steven and his opponent ahead of the game.
Alongside a tribute for his children, To'o wrote 'Steven' on his tape around his arm during the decider in Sydney. The Penrith Panthers winger posted the message to social media in a sign of respect to Munster.
Brian To'o wrote 'Steven †' on his strapping before the Origin decider.Steven is the name of Cameron Munster's father.A beautiful and classy tribute from one of the game's most genuine humans. pic.twitter.com/hFIbk6dkOg
— NRLCentral (@centralNRL) July 9, 2025
Munster was all class after the victory and used his time in the post-game press conference to thank the NSW players for sending him messages of support throughout the week. 'I've had so much support and text messages from not only obviously rugby league, but also the NSW team, so just shows what kind of character those guys are and yeah, just forever grateful," he said.
'And rugby league and that I think family is more important than anything and a lot of people showed that the last couple of days and really got behind me, so I want to say thank you to all those people and thanks for coming out tonight.'
He then became emotional thanking his family after an incredibly tough week. 'Thank you to my Mum, My sister, my partner Bianca and the kids,' Munster added. 'I just want to say thank you for getting behind me this weekend. I know it's been a tough time, but yeah, I guess at the end of the day, that's life.
'And I just want to appreciate everyone that's been around me and make this week so special. And yeah, we'll enjoy it tonight and can't wait to obviously go next year and hopefully see what we can do. But thank you guys. Have a good night."
While there were no expectations on Munster to return for the game, Slater confirmed the newly appointed captain would be back for the decider. And the five-eighth showed why he is in a class of his own having directed his team to a 24-12 win.
Speaking after the game, Munster thanked Slater for convincing him to go see his family and taking time away from the game. "I'm forever grateful for that," Munster said.
"I wasn't probably more leaning towards not doing it because I didn't want to let Bill and all of Queensland down. But Bill told me I needed to go home. "I knew straight away when I heard ... dad would be stupid enough to tell me that there was more at stake (and to play). It was a decider, I was in camp the whole week. I knew the preparation.
"And it would have been a really tough job for Bill and the coaching staff, to put someone in and understand how the way we wanted to play. "It was an easy ... Queensland is everything to me." Tom Dearden won player-of-the-series and was also outstanding having taken over former captain Daly Cherry-Evans ahead of Game 2.
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