It might seem heartless to suggest this while the news is so raw, but by game-time rest assured Munster’s team-mates will do everything that’s humanly possible to honour their skipper and his father.
It’s just how teams think.
Slater’s a winner. Always has been. He’s played like a winner, coached like a winner and, above all that, thinks like a winner.
His coaching rival Laurie Daley was a winner as a player, not so much as a coach. In Daley’s defence, for the five years he coached NSW from 2013 to 2017, Queensland was in the midst of the most dominant run in State of Origin history, winning 11 of 12 series from 2006 to 2017.
Daley did break that run with a lone series victory in 2014, and his sides were never beaten 3-0.
Slater’s Origin coaching career began with series wins in 2022 and 2023 after Queensland had lost three of the previous four series to Brad Fittler-coached Blues outfits.
He finished off Fittler’s Blues career with those victories and looked invincible at the helm of the Maroons.
Enter Michael Maguire who pulled a series win for NSW from the fire last year, a victory which re-ignited his NRL coaching career as he was head-hunted by the Broncos.
Slater, out of nowhere, no longer looked invincible.
The Blues had to go back to the drawing board, and NSWRL boss Dave Trodden convinced his board that his old mate Daley was ready for a second go.
So we now head to Accor Stadium on Wednesday night where both Daley and Slater have everything on the line.
The pressure is on NSW Blues coach Laurie Daley.Credit: Getty Images
A series loss for NSW would be devastating for Daley. He has no alternative but to win. In fact a series loss after last year’s win and this year’s game one dominance at Suncorp would be beyond devastating.
Slater too has a lot on the line. He was stunned by last year’s loss, especially losing the decider at home.
His confidence would have been rocked further after game one this year when Queensland was completely outclassed.
Winning in Perth was huge for him, but to do it in a decider at Accor will take a much bigger, and better, performance.
On paper, his side is outgunned. NSW won three matches in a row going back to last year and were let down by a sloppy first half effort in Perth. The 8-0 penalty count against them didn’t help.
It’s often argued NSW ‘don’t get Origin’. It’s rubbish. Of course they ‘get’ Origin. But, there is a huge difference in the attitude toward Origin by the two states.
As a born-and-bred Queenslander, the best way I can explain it is that Queenslanders believe people from Sydney think they’re better than them.
It’s like an inferiority complex, and they fuel themselves on beating NSW, sticking it to them.
The fans, officials and players feel the same way.
As part of the process, the Maroons like to find reasons to fuel the fire. Last match, they were filthy that Aaron Woods said Slater was a ‘grub’ on radio.
Who cares that he said that? Well, the Queenslanders did because it was another example of someone from Sydney disrespecting them.
“See, they think they’re better than us.”
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Cam Munster said as much after the match. Daley too said Woods did the Blues ‘no favours’ with the comment.
This week it will be the romance of the journeyman and the inspiration of the retired great, coming back for one last hurrah.
And it might just be enough.
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