'I love him': Maroons make stand for their man Billy

Queensland players ate cake and sang happy birthday to Billy Slater before repaying their besieged coach’s faith by keeping the Origin series alive with a gripping 26-24 win in Perth.

Sitting next to Slater, who turned 42 on the day of Game Two at Optus Stadium, Maroons captain Cameron Munster declared: “I love him”.

The former Test and Origin great had been under enormous pressure after NSW’s emphatic 18-6 triumph in the series opener at Suncorp Stadium – the first time the Blues had won three consecutive Origins since 2005-2006.

With the series on the line, so was Slater’s job as no Queensland coach has ever lost two years in a row and survived to oversee a third series.

Yet the Maroons can now bounce back from last year’s series loss and regain the State of Origin Shield in Sydney on July 9 after storming to a 26-6 halftime lead and hanging on to repel a stunning NSW comeback.

“At the end of the day, he’s our coach and he’s done everything he can and ticked the boxes for us,” Munster said.

“We didn’t perform for him in game one and he got a lot of slack for it, and a lot of stuff in the media that he didn’t deserve.

“I played with Bill, he’s a champion player and champion coach. I’ve had a great relationship with him and still do, and we’re really close mates.

"When you have someone jabbing at him like that, it really hurts. It hurt me personally. I don’t ever tell him that, but I’m probably telling him now.

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, and he loves Queensland and that’s a reason why he’s so passionate.

“When you have someone like that at the helm, you just want to play for him. At the end of the day, I just love playing for Queensland and he’s the reason why I want to play.”

Slater made one of the biggest selection calls in Queensland Origin history when he axed veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans and appointed Munster in an inspirational move.

The star five-eighth was named man-of-the-match.

“That’s the nicest thing he’s ever said to me,” Slater said in response to Munster’s comments.

“Look, I know the game. I’m in the game, I understand it. Sometimes things get pushed to the boundary, but it hasn’t influenced how I look at myself and who I am as a person. I’m very comfortable with who I am, I know who I am.”

The Maroons coach had begun the day by calling an unscheduled press conference to apologise for referencing the late Paul Green in his response on Tuesday to comments by former Blues prop Aaron Woods.

Slater was also apologised to Green's widow Amanda and the family of the former Queensland halfback and coach.

Maroons players didn’t speak about winning for Slater, but they were all aware of the pressure he was under.

“We didn't really talk about it too much and we don't really listen to too much noise outside camp, [but] not just for Billy, but for the whole coaching staff, how much work they put in and the whole of Queensland,” said Kurt Capewell, who was recalled to the side after being overlooked for Game One.

Munster said the players were aware of the criticism levelled at Slater and wanted to make a stand.

“Whatever it was, at the end of the day, when someone’s having a jab at someone from your own backyard, you stand up off your back and want to get up and fight,” he said.

“We were backs against the wall. No one gave us a chance and when you have guys nitpicking and jabbing at your coach - it’s not him, it’s the players who go out there.

“He’s given us a great game plan, and we didn’t execute that in game one. We did it tonight in the first half.”