Queensland Maroons five-eighth Cameron Munster has been named man of the match in Game 1 of the 2022 State of Origin series after a thrilling 16 points to 10 victory over the NSW Blues at Accor Stadium in Homebush.
In what was one of the best Origin encounters in recent years, the Maroons were able to take a six-point victory.
At one point, they had been ahead by 16 points to 4, with only a Cameron Murray try bringing the Blues back to within a single score of the Maroons.
In a field of strong contenders to be named man of the match, Munster was ultimately handed the honour after guiding his side through the 80 minutes.
Apart from coming up with a crucial one-on-one strip to gain the Maroons possession in the dying minutes, he also was heavily involved in the game, carrying his career-best form at the Melbourne Storm over into his performance for the men from north of the Tweed.
By the time it was all said and done, Munster had 191 metres from 20 runs to his name to go with eight tackle breaks and a line break. He also made two offloads and contributed heavily to the kicking game, making 269 metres off his own boot. Add that to strong defensive work, and it's not hard to see why the veteran was named man of the match.
It was thought that Valentine Holmes, Patrick Carrigan and Daly Cherry-Evans were among Queensland's best apart from Munster, while NSW Blues' captain James Tedesco was the best for the home side.
