King Wally adamant Munster can still find another gear

Queensland legend Wally Lewis says Cameron Munster can play even better after his man-of-the-match display secured the Maroons’ victory in Origin Game I.

It’s a frightening prospect for NSW but Queensland State of Origin legend Wally Lewis is adamant mercurial Maroons playmaker Cameron Munster can still find another gear.

Reaping the rich rewards of a self-imposed alcohol ban, Munster was a unanimous man of the match in Queensland’s series-opening 16-10 win in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Munster was in the heart of everything as the Maroons left the Blues needing to win the remaining two games in Perth and Brisbane to snatch the series from 1-0 down for only a fourth time in Origin’s 43-year history.

The Queensland No.6 constantly troubled the NSW defence with his running game, while he ably assisted halfback Daly Cherry-Evans in putting their opponents under pressure with the boot and came up with some key plays in defence.
 
But in a chilling warning to Brad Fittler’s Blues, Lewis insists Munster still has more to offer. 

“I’ve seen better Origin performances from him – and that’s a rap,” Lewis told AAP. 

“I was watching him early and it looked like he was thinking ‘yep, I’ve got plenty of blokes coming at me in defence here. I’ll take it easy and just pass the ball on’.

“Then he started to realise that they were getting a bit tired and he started to run at them.

“They’re the moments that make a great player.”

“King Wally”, with a record eight Origin man-of-the-match awards to his credit, would know.

“He’s one of those blokes who will say it wasn’t his best game and he’ll find two or three things that he did wrong but that’s why he’s such a good player,” Lewis said.

“He feels that he’s just got to keep getting better and better.” 

While the NSW halves pairing of Penrith’s Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai looked off-song in just their third Origin together, Munster and Cherry-Evans nailed the big moments.

Munster and Cherry-Evans have been Queensland’s first-choice halves combination for four years and Lewis believes the dynamic duo will also improve their partnership to continue terrorising the Blues.

“The way that they combine now is exceptional,” Lewis said. 

“I loved playing in the early days of Origin with Mark Murray, then with Alf (Allan Langer). 

“You get to the stage where you don’t have to tell them what to do. You understand each other’s games so comfortably that you’ll just react.

“You’ll run to a particular area and the bloke that you’re working off he’ll know that. 

“He’ll do all the work and he’ll put the ball on a platter for you and go there as you are and you’ll make the most of it.”

“But that’s the difference. The great players like Munster, they’re the players that can react and can make the most of an opportunity like that and don’t let them go.”

By: George Clarke and Darren Walton, AAP