Storm coach Craig Bellamy has lashed critics of his star playmaker Cameron Munster after another Origin incident last weekend

For the second Origin in a row, a Storm star was in the gun for an ugly on-field incident, but his coach won’t cop the critics calling him grubby.

Cameron Munster’s club coach Craig Bellamy believes criticism of the Maroons star’s actions on Sunday night are unfair. Picture: Chris Hyde / Getty Images

Storm coach Craig Bellamy has lashed critics of his star playmaker Cameron Munster after he was cleared of any wrongdoing over an incident in the second State of Origin.

Munster was labelled “one of the grubbier players in the game” despite the NRL’s match review committee choosing not to charge him for making contact on NSW captain James Tedesco with his knees.

The Maroons and Melbourne star is set to back up against the Roosters on Thursday night in Newcastle and despite conceding Munster had gone “over the top” sometimes, Bellamy squashed talk he was a dirty player.

“I thought the incident the other day that everyone seemed to be talking about, he was going for the ball, James was going for the ball as well, and I thought he really tried to pull up,” Bellamy said on Wednesday.

“He could have kept going, which could have put James in more danger. I think the match review committee saw it the same way.

“He’s a competitive monster, as everyone knows. A couple of times he has been over the top, we all put our hand up to say that and Cameron does as well.

“But I thought the criticism from Sunday night’s game was a little bit unfair.

Bellamy said Munster, who was fined for kicking after the Origin opener, seemed unfazed by the constant criticism of his actions

“Not overly,” he said.

“He just needs to concentrate on his game for tomorrow night, then he can start thinking about Origin three.”

Cameron Munster collides with James Tedesco at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday night.

The Storm’s returning Origin players, including Josh Addo-Carr, Felise Kaufusi and Christian Welch, might not play the Roosters, despite putting their hands up to do so.

Bellamy said they would make some match day decisions because all the players copped “some knocks” last Sunday in Brisbane.

Star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has “come a long way” in his recovery from concussion and Bellamy said he had a “real bounce” at training.

He said it won’t be “too long” before Papenhuyzen was playing again.

All Storm players and staff returned to Melbourne on Tuesday after 46 days on the Sunshine Coast, and Bellamy said the return was “more than hectic” as everyone moved at short notice.

The reigning premiers didn’t lose a game while they were on the road, and are on a 12-game winning streak.

Bellamy said the return home could be a massive boost for plenty of his players, and doubted the new interruption would break his team’s winning rhythm.

“I can’t see while we are training down here we can’t get into the same rhythm we had,” he said.

“There were some good things about being on the Sunny Coast. But we had some players and staff who didn’t have their families with them, and that’s tough, that’s real tough.”

“There was some real relief when they got back to their families. There were some people who were really happy to get home.”

Originally published as Storm coach Craig Bellamy has lashed critics of his star playmaker Cameron Munster after another Origin incident last weekend