‘I'll stop you there’: Munster lifts lid on heated Klein exchange
Queensland captain Cameron Munster has lifted the lid on his half-time argument with referee Ashley Klein during his side’s loss in the State of Origin decider.
Munster’s men came into the match at Suncorp Stadium as the favourites, but were outclassed by a red-hot NSW outfit 30-12 on Wednesday night.
Cameron Munster and Ashley Klein in a heated debate. Nine
The hosts dished up 14 errors and gave away plenty of penalties and set restarts in the disappointing defeat on home soil.
But one moment on the stroke of half-time caught the attention of viewers, where a frustrated Munster was spotted in discussion with Klein.
“I just wanna know, there’s been some calls mate, that I think have warranted being 10 in the bin,” the Maroons skipper was heard saying on Nine.
“We haven’t got the rub of the green, I know they’re 50/50s.”
Klein then stepped in and cut Munster’s line of questioning off.
“I’ll stop you there,” the experienced official said.
“That’s your opinion, we’re making decisions off what we see in the moment.”
Munster wasn’t done there however and claimed that Blues players were “losing their legs” in tackles, pointing to potential hip-drops.
During a sobering post-game press conference, Munster was quizzed about the run-in with Klein, but opted not to go into detail.
“I just had a few questions around certain things,” the 31-year-old said.
“It was probably a bit of frustration from myself in the heat of the moment, asking Ash some questions. He saw them a bit differently to myself.
“He’s the referee, so he adjudicates the game how he sees it.”
Munster lamented the errors and near-misses for Queensland in the 18-point loss.
Cameron Munster during the Origin decider. Getty Images
“There’s always a lot of pressure in big games, but at the end of the day, you have to harness that pressure,” the champion five-eighth said.
“I thought we did that, there were just a couple of moments and they capitalised.
“We fought hard and got back into the game - but Plathy [Max Plath] being offside and if he’s onside there, we’re down by six with 11 minutes to go.”
Queensland have now lost three-straight games at Suncorp, including last year’s game one and the 2024 decider, where the Blues defied two decades of history.
