As Cameron Munster honours his late father in the State of Origin decider, he will play in the knowledge of how proud Steven was of his life and career.

Steven’s sudden death on Saturday sent shockwaves through the Maroons camp and the entire NRL world.

Cameron was granted leave over the weekend to be with family, but reunited with teammates on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday night’s blockbuster.

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Steven, who was just 58, was interviewed by ABC last Friday and said he and wife Debbie were unbelievably proud of their son.

“Both of us are so proud of the way he’s going through his life and now he’s captain of Queensland, it’s just unbelievable,” he told the ABC.

“He’s got to be proud the way he’s turned his life around and for where he’s come from.

“I remember sitting on the verandah with him and [sister] Danielle and he said to us, ‘All I want to do, Dad, is play one NRL game,’ and all of a sudden, look what he’s done now.”

Steven Munster (right) spoke glowingly about his son the day before he died. Credit: Instagram

Steven also spoke about Cameron’s other sporting achievements when he was younger.

“(Cameron) was very good at soccer. He was 11 playing in the under-12s and they did an assessment on him to play (club) soccer in the under-14s for Bluebirds,” he said.

“He passed the assessment and had two games off the bench and scored a hat-trick in both games.”

Cameron was also a handy cricketer growing up, just like Steven, who earned selection for Australia in indoor cricket.

“(Cameron) got a hat-trick in his second A-grade game,” he said.

“I turned up late. I dropped him off then went back home, had lunch and came back and he had already got the hat-trick while I was away.”

Steven’s unexpected death has dominated the build up to Wednesday night’s clash.

On Tuesday, Queensland coach Billy Slater and the entire team have wrapped their arms around the grief-stricken leader.

Slater knew there was nothing he could say to make everything better when he sat with Munster in his room at Queensland camp over the weekend.

Munster vowed then and there to Slater that, after spending some time with his family, he would lead Queensland in Wednesday’s Origin decider.

“He didn’t have a lot of answers for a lot of other things, but he gave that one to me pretty straight,” Slater said.

“It’s a huge game and he wants to be a part of that.”

Slater understood the best thing he could do for Munster sitting in his room on Sunday was to be there as a mate, and give him all the time he needed with family.

The coach knew that because he lost his own father Ronnie earlier this year.

“There’s no real words that fix any of this,” Slater said.

“Unfortunately there’s not a switch (to flick).

“I haven’t dealt with this as a coach, but I’ve dealt with it as a person. I lost my father in January. I know what it’s like and Cam’s an inspiration for many people.

“He’s a hero to many people in Queensland. I can only imagine his dad would’ve been his first inspiration and his first hero. He’d be hurting right now.”

- With AAP