‘Embarrassing': Cameron Munster exposed as Queensland liability in Origin defeat

News.com.au

3 days ago

Cameron Munster can thank the rugby league gods Daly Cherry-Evans is a much more obvious lightning rod for criticism after Queensland were outclassed in Wednesday night's State of Origin series opener.
There have been suggestions Cherry-Evans, 36, may have already played his final game in the Origin arena after failing to trouble the NSW defensive line in the 18-6 defeat at Suncorp Stadium.
The Queensland halves pairing came under fire after the defeat with Maroons legend Shane Webcke admitting he was worried 'the magic wasn't there'.
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Both playmakers showed glimpses of the classy players they have previously been at Origin level, but Cherry-Evans' failure to unlock the NSW left edge defence was particularly damning.
It was telling for Cherry-Evans that the Maroons' attack looked sharper and more direct when Cowboys playmaker Tom Dearden entered the game in the second half.
However, NSW Origin cult hero Josh Reynolds has now pointed out Munster and the Maroons' left edge was just as blunt in attack on the other side of the field.
Reynolds told Sky Sports radio on Thursday morning it appeared Queensland continued to attack down Cherry-Evans' side of the field because the Maroons had identified the defensive gap between Mitchell Moses and Latrell Mitchell was a potential weakness.
He said the Blues' defence on both edges was 'exceptional'.
'I spoke about Critter (centre Stephen Crichton) before. He was brilliant,' Reynolds said.
'Latrell (Mitchell) was the same. You could tell that Queensland were going after the Moses-Latrell combination. That's the edge they were going for because Critter was eating them alive.
'Every time they went there it was half embarrassing for them. They were like, 'We can't get around this guy'. I'll be looking for them to go back there in Game 2, but even that was hard because big bad Trell was on.'
Reynolds put heat on the Maroons' right edge — made up of Reuben Cotter, Munster, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Valentine Holmes — by saying Crichton's defensive dominance had forced Queensland to funnel their attack through Cherry-Evans' side of the field.
The former Bulldogs five-eighth described Crichton as the greatest defensive centre he has ever seen — making an apology to Blues great and former teammate Josh Morris in the process.
There is already pressure on Queensland coach Billy Slater to make changes at the selection table — but his other headache is needing a tactical shift to combat Crichton.
The Bulldogs captain was also a handful with the ball, setting up a try for Zac Lomax where he split the defensive line and forced Tabuai-Fidow to make an attempted tackle instead of trusting his inside defenders to stop Crichton from scoring.
Crichton finished with 67 run metres, two tackle busts, a linebreak assist, a try assist and 15 tackles.
Blues coach Laurie Daley praised Crichton for his performance, coming off a disrupted training program as a result of a corked thigh.
'Critter was fantastic,' Daley said.
'And I think the word that they said to me, 'Critter's right to go because he said, they asked him this morning, how was he? And he said he was mad, so that's obviously good.'
Crichton will be living in Munster's head rent free heading into Game 2 in Perth on June 18.
However, it is Cherry-Evans who is feeling the heat even more so.
A forward pass late in the game, as the home team tried to muster a final charge, was indicative of a battling night for the veteran No. 7.
NSW great Andrew Johns called for Cherry-Evans to be axed for game two and replaced by Tom Dearden, who looms as the playmaker in waiting and came off the bench in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
But Dearden wasn't prepared to throw his captain under the buss and called the criticism 'unfair', instead pointing the finger at failures across the team.
'It's unfair criticism like that,' he said on Thursday.
'Daley's our captain, and he's at half back, and he doesn't deserve that because last night as a team, we didn't get our discipline right, and that puts you under pressure.'
Former Maroons skipper Cameron Smith said the Queensland key position players, including Cherry-Evans, 'couldn't get the job done' and selection decisions would be crucial to level the series.
'I think (coach Billy Slater) will have that discussion with his selection panel and he'll go through this game thoroughly,' Smith told Channel 9.
'There's no doubt that the key position players of Queensland lacked a bit of cohesion tonight.'
Dearden said the Maroons would 'get back to work' before the second game in Perth.
'And work out the areas where we went wrong, where we can get better, and then turn it around for game two and for game three,' he said.
Slater said he would look at every element of the game, including the lead-in, adamant there was 'so much more' in his squad.
'Probably some decisions … about the discipline side of the game (have to be better),' Slater said.
'And I'll look at my preparation as well. I'm not out of this. It's not just the players, it's everyone, and we'll all look at ourselves.
'I know there's so much more in this footy team.
'It's a best of three. You've only got to win two games, and that's still alive.'