NEW Queensland captain Cameron Munster said criticism of Maroons coach Billy Slater inspired their victory in State of Origin game two.
Slater came under heavy criticism after losing the opener but his side tied up the series by holding on for a 26-24 win in Perth.
“When you have someone jabbing at him like that, it really hurts. It hurts me personally,” said Munster.
“And when someone’s having a jab at someone in your own backyard, you stand up on your back and want to get up and fight.
“We needed to do that tonight. We were backs against the wall, no one gave us a chance.
“I love him, and I just want to do the best thing for Queensland, and the best thing for him, because he’s not doing this for him, he’s doing it for Queensland.
“He’s our coach, and he’s done everything he can to tick the boxes for us, and we didn’t perform for him in game one.
“He got a lot of slack for it, and a lot of stuff in the media, and he didn’t deserve it.
“He’s given us a great gameplan. We didn’t execute in game one, but we did it tonight in the first half.”
Blues coach Laurie Daley has vowed to look at his own decisions rather than drop New South Wales players after their defeat.
“I know what this group is capable of,” said Daley.
“That’s the thing that you get disappointed with because they never gave themselves that opportunity.
“Now it’s one-all, that’s what Origin is all about and it creates theatre and headlines. I’m sure everyone wants a decider and they’ve got it.
“I know what our best football is and when we play our best football I know what we’re capable of doing.
“I’ve got to take responsibility because we started well but the first half wasn’t great. I’ve got to look at what I’ve done because something’s not right.”