NRL 2022: Melboure Storm star Harry Grant urges Cameron Munster to re-sign with club
Storm hooker Harry Grant has revealed he shunned the Dolphins’ big bucks to re-sign with Melbourne. And now he’s pleading for Cameron Munster to do the same.
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Queensland Origin hooker Harry Grant has appealed for Melbourne teammate Cameron Munster to follow his lead and shun a big-money offer from the Dolphins to build a premiership dynasty at the Storm.
As the Storm prepare for a remarkable 12th consecutive finals campaign, Grant outlined his reasons for knocking back Dolphins super coach Wayne Bennett - and he is hoping and praying Munster does the same.
The Dolphins were keen to headhunt Grant to be one of the poster boys of the NRL’s 17th team.
A Maroons Origin sensation, Rockhampton product and arguably the code’s No.1 hooker, Grant ticked all the boxes for a Dolphins hierarchy targeting star power for their foundation NRL season in 2023.
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Grant could have earned more money at the Redcliffe-backed organisation, but the 24-year-old had no interest playing the field, touring rival set-ups and drawing out negotiations in pursuit of the dollar.
In April, he inked a three-year extension with the Storm until the end of 2025, believing Melbourne’s culture is the perfect fit for his mindset.
“Obviously there was interest (from the Dolphins), but for me, the way I play and as a team, Melbourne really appreciate hard work and guys who do the little things well,” Grant said.
“I feel like I base my game on effort and working hard and that was one big factor for me to stay.
“I felt like the key guys we had signed up, like ‘Paps’ (fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen) and Jahrome (Hughes), felt the same way.”
Amid the Storm’s remarkable two decades of success, it is easy to forget Grant is one Melbourne player who has yet to slip on a premiership ring.
When the Storm last triumphed in 2020, Grant was outside Melbourne’s top 17, with Cameron Smith’s hooking understudy loaned to the Wests Tigers for 12 months to help fast-track his NRL development.
With the Dolphins taking their formative steps in the big league, Grant felt greater comfort chasing a maiden title at an established powerhouse like the Storm.
“I want to win a premiership, that’s my main goal as a footy player,” Grant said.
“You hear past players speak of the Storm and what we have here.
“I had an opportunity to go to another NRL club, but to sign with the Melbourne Storm, I really appreciate what the old boys say about the club, and what the club means to them.”
Ironically, the big bucks Melbourne forked out to upgrade Grant has affected their spending power to keep Munster under the salary cap beyond next season.
The Dolphins are threatening to blow the Storm out of the water with a massive four-year, $1.3 million-a-season offer for Munster. That’s a $5.2 million carrot to return to Queensland, but Grant hopes the Maroons maestro stays loyal to Melbourne.
“Hopefully Munster thinks the same way as me,” Grant said.
“Everyone here is hopeful he will stay, he is the heart and soul of the Melbourne Storm at the moment.
“He has been so good this year, his energy for us is infectious.
“Cam is playing such good footy at the moment, I would love him to stay and whether it’s fans, the coaches or the board, we don’t want him to go, but that’s ultimately a decision for Munster.
“As a player, he has to make the right call.”
Watching Grant’s guile and dominance around the rucks, it is hard to believe he has played only 51 NRL games.
The classy hooker produced arguably the finest game of his career a fortnight ago when he tore the Broncos apart in a 60-12 mauling and attributes his composure in the NRL to the Storm’s careful grooming of him in the Queensland Cup.
“Just the time playing Q Cup really helped me,” he says.
“I played almost 50 games for the Sunny Coast Falcons and I also had a couple of years with the Storm under-20s.
“It just helps you to be ready, you don’t want to play NRL too early and I feel like that apprenticeship was what really helped me.
“I wasn’t thrown in the deep end too early.
“I got a couple of good years of development and the coaches put a lot of time into me to prepare me for the NRL.
“I had Cam Smith there for a few years to learn from as well so I was fortunate to land where I did when I did.”
The end-of-season World Cup is looming and Grant knows a bumper finals campaign for Melbourne will turn up the heat on NSW hooking duo Damien Cook and Api Koroisau as he eyes off a maiden Australia jumper.
“I would love to play for Australia,” Grant said.
“I have always dreamed of playing for my country, but I can’t control that now.
“The way we went out of the finals last year (with a preliminary final loss to Penrith) definitely burns.
“When the finals come around we will be better for last year’s losses and experiences.”
KEY SIGNING BOOSTS DOLPHINS’ HUGE BID TO SNARE MUNSTER
Dolphins boss Terry Reader has ramped-up plans to sign Cameron Munster as the NRL’s 17th team continued their recruitment drive by securing Kristian Woolf as Wayne Bennett’s coaching successor.
One of the most important building blocks has fallen into place for the Dolphins with Woolf agreeing to join Bennett as his right-hand man next season with a view to succeeding the super coach in 2025.
As first revealed by News Corp, Woolf has been on Bennett’s radar for some time — and the NRL’s greatest mentor has got his man to form a Dolphins coaching dream team in 2023.
Woolf is one of the hottest emerging coaches in the code. He has led St Helens to back-to-back premierships, is eyeing a hat-trick this season and masterminded Tonga’s fairytale semi-final performance at the 2017 World Cup.
Bennett will spend the next two years grooming Woolf, a born-and-bred Queenslander from Mt Isa, and believes the 47-year-old has served an ideal apprenticeship in his eventual rise to the Dolphins top job.
“Kristian has done his time as both an assistant and a head coach and done everything right to deserve this opportunity,” Bennett said.
“He has been an assistant at a couple of different NRL clubs, has been a head coach in the Queensland Cup, and has had a lot of success coaching in England over the last few years.
“Kristian has done the deal to bring his family home to Queensland and I am certain he is going to be a great asset to the Dolphins and is next in line as head coach of the club.”
With their coaching dream team in place, the Dolphins are now hellbent on landing a marquee player and are ready to turn up the heat on the Storm in the battle for playmaking champion Munster.
The Storm are hoping for a definitive call from Munster before next week’s finals, but if the Queensland Origin star opts to head to free agency from November 1, the Dolphins will be in the box seat to win a bidding war.
The new franchise is armed with a massive four-year, $1.3 million-a-season offer for Munster and Dolphins chief executive Reader confirmed Munster is a priority target for 2024.
“Wayne would like Cameron here, the club feels no different ... he (Munster) is someone we want to be part of our team,” Reader said.
“There is a fluid player market in the background, there is plenty happening and we still have signings to come before we run out in March next year.
“We’re doing our best to make sure we can build a squad that is competitive from day one and there is a marquee player like Munster (available) for 2024.
“There is a lot of time before March when we run on the field to sign more players.
“We do have the salary-cap space to fit in a marquee player for 2023 and beyond if it’s beneficial for our club.”
With eight weeks until the start of the Dolphins’ inaugural pre-season, Queensland’s fourth NRL club has signed 26 players, including six development rookies, and needs a further 10 to complete their 30-man full-time roster.
Reader believes the signing of Woolf will give potential recruits more comfort about the direction of the Dolphins.
“It’s a wonderful coup for us to secure Kristian’s signature as an assistant coach and long-term successor to Wayne,” he said.
“For any player that signs with us or considers coming, it’s a wonderful show of faith in the strength of the club.
“Wayne was very big on getting someone who had the runs on the board and Kristian has that.
“He is looking at three Super League premierships in a row this year and he has turned Tonga into a powerhouse in international rugby league.
“He will form a dream team with Wayne as a coaching unit for 2023.”
Originally published as NRL 2022: Melboure Storm star Harry Grant urges Cameron Munster to re-sign with club
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