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Sport Nation
Matty Johns bombshell GOAT call on Munster
SEN • June 19th, 2025 7:35 pm
Matty Johns has declared Cameron Munster in the top five State of Origin players of all time.
A claim which may not sit well with many a Blues fan, but based on the new Queensland captain’s performance in Game 2 - which saw the Maroons draw the series level - the Storm star is in the five.
Munster was central to the victory in Perth, which he later dedicated to under fire coach Billy Slater and Johns was all praise for the skipper.
“I’ve said for a while, if you talk about the greatest Queensland Origin players of all time he has to be in the discussion," Johns said on SEN 1170 The Run Home with Joel and Fletch.
“I know we look back to the past with the rose coloured glasses, but I think in a lot of ways, we don’t critique the past like we do the present.
“Who are the top 5 Origin players of all time? NSW and QLD.
“Wally and Smith are the obvious ones then you have Joey, Kenny, Daley, Clyde but in my opinion Munster is in the top five players of all time.
“What he has done for Queensland and in Maroons sides that weren’t strong, he has dragged them across the line.”
Reflecting on the game in Perth, Johns, who was watching with Storm halfback Cooper Johns, said the knew Munster was locked in to do something special.
“When he came out the tunnel Coops said ‘I’ve never seen him so stone faced’.
“I think that was adrenalin. It was pouring through him. It was a master stroke from Billy dropping Daly Cherry-Evans, putting more pressure on Munster and bringing in Dearden. Both of them were very very good.”
When it comes to the criticism of the referee and the now infamous penalty count, Johns said there was “nothing to see here” and that it was just NSW Blues ill-discipline on show.
“People will point to the count and blame the ref (but) if you look at them they were warranted,” Johns said.
“Lomax and the elbow, it was insane. There was a few of those.
“We were ill-disciplined. We kept giving them field position through penalties.”
NSW and QLD will battle it out for the 2025 Origin title in Sydney on July 9.
