NRL 2022: Melbourne Storm star Cameron Munster puts off all contract talks to focus on finals
A move to Queensland looms for a Storm superstar, but he’s revealed where his contract talks stand.
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Cameron Munster has conceded the lure of a move to Queensland looms large for his family but won’t be making any decisions on his future until Melbourne Storm’s finals campaign is done.
The Storm and Queensland State-of-Origin star remains the No.1 target for the new NRL club the Dolphins, and although contracted to Melbourne for 2023, the fledgling team is trying to get him for their debut season.
Munster put that to bed by declaring “I’m still here for next year” when it was put to him the clash with the Raiders could be his final one for Melbourne.
But the 27-year-old said all talks about his move beyond that were on hold as he focused on Saturday’s elimination final clash against Canberra, conceding there was a lot to consider with his partner Bianca, who is from Queensland, and the mother of their baby son, Jaxson, potentially wanting to move closer to family support.
“I‘ve spoken to (chairman) Matt Tripp and the club and I’m going to put a hold on negotiations until the final series is done – I just want to focus on finals and hopefully go deep in September which would be nice,” Munster said on Tuesday.
“We’ve got a big game this Saturday against the Raiders so looking forward to that.
“If it was only about myself then I’d love to stay, but at the same time I’ve got a young family that I need to worry about and obviously she’s from Queensland, so we need to make sure we will make the right decision.”
The Storm is in a rare first-week position in the finals, having to win to continue, and come up against Raiders outfit that has won the last four clashes between the two teams at AAMI Park in Melbourne, including in the 2019 finals.
“I know we put ourselves in a sticky situation coming fifth … it’s going to be tough for us, I’m not going to sugar coat it, but we have the depth of talent to go well, it’s just a matter of putting it all together,” Munster said.
“Whatever road we take, it’s going to be hard, but we need to get through the Raiders first, and that’s going to be tough.”
Munster said the game plan to overturn their recent poor record against the Raiders in Melbourne was clear, and now it was about execution.
“It‘s similar to what we’re about, trying to grind the other team into the ground and the Raiders have done that to us,” the 27-year-old said.
“We need to make sure we don’t play into that mentality of just going through their middle. They are big boys and I know you want to try and tire them out.
“But if we start to get into that grind, it could end up being bad for us.”
Originally published as NRL 2022: Melbourne Storm star Cameron Munster puts off all contract talks to focus on finals
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