NSW captain Isaah Yeo says the return of Cameron Murray this year might just give the Blues the edge they need to reclaim the Origin shield.
The inspirational South Sydney skipper missed virtually the entire 2025 campaign after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon on the eve of the season. In his absence, the Rabbitohs finished fourth from bottom of the NRL ladder while NSW relinquished the shield after coughing up a 1-0 series lead.
The importance of Murray to the Blues side can be seen in how the team has struggled when he is not playing, or has been ruled out early in games.
Murray suffered a hamstring injury within minutes of coming onto the field in Adelaide during game one in 2020 and the Blues lost.
The Blues also crashed to defeat when he was concussed in the opening minutes of the 2022 decider at Suncorp Stadium. In 2024, NSW lost game one before Murray returned to the side to help the Blues win the series.
Souths teammate Keaon Koloamatangi maintained last year’s Origin result may have been different had Murray not been sidelined.
Murray’s work rate around the middle is often overlooked, but former Blues coach Brad Fittler makes a point of praising the 28-year-old’s key contribution in the lead-up to James Tedesco’s series-winning try in 2019. While he doesn’t always feature on the highlights reels, Murray is constantly among the first names discussed by opposing teams when preparing for a match.
Yeo made it clear how important Murray’s return was to the squad. “We’ve missed him in a couple of big moments,” Yeo said. “You don’t understand how important he is until you’re in the team environment, and you see him play first hand.”
The return of Murray will allow coach Laurie Daley to move Yeo into the front row if needed when the Souths lock is injected into the game. The pair spent plenty of minutes on the park together in game three in 2024, which helped sealed a rare series-winning victory on Queensland soil.
“He’s an absolute beast of a player,” Nathan Cleary said of Murray. “Any time I take the field with him, I’ve always enjoyed it. He’s very smart and very tough – he offers such leg speed through the middle, and can play on an edge.
“I think where Cam and Isaah’s heads are at, their footy IQ is top-notch, and their ball playing through the middle is elite.”
Murray was certainly happy to play down what his return meant for his state, and said he hated watching the Blues lose last year’s decider at home.
“That was hard to watch,” he said. “I bleed blue, I always have – I was a NSW fan before I was ever a player. “I’m back, you perform at a high level, the stakes are high, the risks are high, the rewards are high. That’s Origin. You need to put the body on the line, and there’s no other way, not for the way I play. Sometimes you have a goods night, sometimes you don’t.
“One of the reasons I love coming into these camps is to play and learn off ‘Yeoy’. It’s hard to be consistent in the NRL, but the way he is so consistent with his preparation, messaging and performances … he’s doing something right because success follows him.”
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
