Origin 2020: Cameron Munster reveals he only played in NRL grand final after pain-killing injection
He has injured the medial ligament in his right knee three times this season but Cameron Munster insists he isn’t in any danger missing Origin I, with Maroons coach Wayne Bennett calling him ‘one tough bloke’.
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Queensland braveheart Cameron Munster has revealed the extent of his niggling knee injury, admitting he had three pain-killing needles to get through last Sunday’s grand-final defeat of Penrith.
Munster insists he is not in danger of missing Origin I after fresh scans in the wake of Melbourne’s premiership win cleared him to lead Queensland’s attack in the series opener next Wednesday night at Adelaide Oval.
Munster has battled medial-ligament damage for almost five months, but only now has the Storm and Queensland pivot detailed the pain in his right knee, which he has injured three times this season.
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The Maroons maestro will require heavy strapping to face the Blues in Origin I, but Munster says he is surprised by how his battered knee responded after a series of injections on NRL grand-final night last Sunday.
“Not many people know this, but I got a needle before the game and at half-time and after the game,” he said.
“It wasn’t even 70 per cent.
“But it came out unscathed in the grand final, the scans were good.
“My doctor was going to have a chat to me and see where I wanted to go but my knee is good now.”
Munster, who plays his eighth Origin game in the 2020 series opener, says he won’t be having another injection for the Adelaide clash and is confident the injury will not prevent him unleashing his attacking brilliance on the Blues.
Munster was quiet in Melbourne‘s grand-final defeat of Penrith, but when asked if he needs more pain-killing needles in Origin I, he said: “Not at all. The knee has come up really well. I’m feeling sharp and will be good to go.
“I’ll be able to run the ball a lot more, step off both feet a lot more and just be that bit more erratic with the ball in hand.
“I was ‘dishing’ (passing) a lot of times in games over the past few weeks, that was just the job I needed to do for the team.
“But I’ll be fit next Wednesday and I’ll be making sure I run the ball a lot more.
“I feel really good. There was a lot of speculation about whether I wanted to play, that wasn’t the case at all.
“I’ve always wanted to play for Queensland, I always love Queensland and always want to put the jersey on.
“You never know when it‘s your last game for Queensland. I guess when you are getting picked you take it with both hands.
“Even if I was 50 or 60 per cent I’d still want to come into camp and train with the boys, even if I wasn’t playing.
“Being around the group is second-to-none.”
Maroons coach Wayne Bennett lauded Munster’s desire to play.
“He is one tough bloke,” he said. “Cam is so important to us. I was really pleased he turned up for this camp, his presence lifts the other guys.”
Maroons mind games: Bennett’s selection switch for Origin I
Wayne Bennett’s mind games with the Blues have begun with Queensland utility Kurt Capewell set to make his Origin debut despite being named 18th man for Game One next Wednesday night.
Speaking exclusively with The Courier-Mail, Bennett confirmed he will make changes to his eventual starting side as the Queensland coach attempts to keep NSW rival Brad Fittler guessing ahead of the series opener at Adelaide Oval.
As required under NRL rules, Bennett released Queensland’s 21-man squad on Thursday, with Dane Gagai named in the centres, Titans flyer Phillip Sami chosen on the wing and Capewell seemingly missing out as 18th man.
But it is understood Capewell will be promoted to win his maiden Maroons jumper at the expense of Sami, who faces the heartbreak of being cut from Queensland’s final 17, denying him a dream Origin debut.
Bennett rotated a number of his players at training today, with Sami, Gagai, Edrick Lee, Xavier Coates and Hymel Hunt all having stints on the Queensland flanks during a brutal session in the Gold Coast heat at Cbus Super Stadium.
But the one constant at left centre was Capewell, who is expected to push Gagai outside him on the wing, leaving debutants Brenko Lee and Coates as Queensland’s rookie right-side pairing.
The Maroons traditionally have their most definitive training run on Sunday and Bennett revealed Capewell was in the mix for his Origin debut as he searched for the right formula to engineer a Blues boilover.
“Kurt is an option, he has good utility value,” Bennett said.
“We were in a situation where we had to name a 21-man squad and the 1-17 we selected (on Thursday) may not be the team come kick-off.
“We have 21 players in the squad and I will be looking at all 21 players.
“I’m watching training closely because I’m getting to know many of these players and I’m trying to find out my best team come game day.”
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Capewell has had a string of near misses in the Origin arena. The 27-year-old was named 18th man in the 2016 decider and narrowly missed out again last year, chosen as 19th man for the series opener at Suncorp Stadium.
A veteran of 73 NRL games, Capewell’s call-up for a Maroons debut would ease the agony of his Penrith side’s grand-final loss to Melbourne last Sunday.
Out-of-form Cowboy Coen Hess is a surprise choice in the back row, but there is a method to the madness. Back-rowers Jaydn Su’A and Felise Kaufusi both play on the right edge at club level and Bennett is reluctant to risk Su’A on the left in his Origin debut.
One option was to move Kaufusi to the left edge, but Bennett likes his right-side club combination with Lee and feels the Storm veteran can help his debutant teammate with his defensive reads at centre.
Queensland five-eighth Cameron Munster backed Capewell to handle an Origin baptism at left centre.
“I’m a big fan of Kurt,” Munster said. “I like the way he plays the game. He’s a footballer. He can play backrow, centre, wing … he’s got a left-hand carry which is good for our left edge.”
Originally published as Origin 2020: Cameron Munster reveals he only played in NRL grand final after pain-killing injection