Melbourne Storm v Penrith Panthers live updates and results

Melbourne Storm star Cameron Munster opens up on a unique off-season spent with the rehabilitation group, being ‘front door famous’ and why revenge is a dish not on his menu.

It was the hellish injury that forced a frustrated Cameron Munster unable to play the footy he knew he could and that his team needed from him.

Now, ahead of Thursday’s anticipated grand final rematch against Penrith, a refocused Munster has opened up on one of the toughest years of his career and how he’ll bounce back in 2025.

Cameron Munster writhes on the ground after tweaking his groin injury. Picture: NRL Imagery

INJURY HELL

Not even a grand final appearance could quell the dissatisfaction Munster felt with a stop-start campaign that included long stretches on the sideline.

And it all boiled down to a groin issue that had plagued him for years, forcing him to miss the opening month of last year, and another three months in the middle of the season.

That also included the entire State of Origin series.

“Looking back on it now, I played the victim, worrying about feeling sorry for myself, when I needed to be patient and take my time,” Munster said.

“I just wanted a quick fix.”

Having had a surprisingly good run with injuries throughout his career, Munster conceded his elusive playing style had finally caught up to him after 11 seasons in the top grade.

Known for his off-the-cuff plays and “thrive in chaos” mentality, it came as no surprise to Munster upon finding out he had a “fair few labrum tears” in both of his hips.

“It’s the way I put my body, the way I move, run around sideways, and use my agility at times,” Munster said.

“It probably just caught up to me.”

Reflecting on the injuries and niggles he had picked up over his career, Munster pinpointed his hips and groin as the hardest he has had to try and get over. Sometimes he couldn’t even do the bare minimum to keep up with his teammates in games and training.

Grand final rematch between Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers. Artwork: Scott 'Boo' Bailey.

“I was doing all the rehab and all the preparation to get myself up for games,” Munster said.

“For some reason, some days, I didn’t physically have the power to run past certain players in our team or have that spurt or speed at the back of shape.

“It really showed in games. I was getting very frustrated, and it showed in my footy. I wasn’t playing the footy I thought I could, and I felt that I was losing it.”

Munster’s hard criticism of himself could be deemed unnecessary, with his 2024 stats rivalling the best of his last four seasons.

Munster’s off-season recovery was supposed to be an eight-week slog, but the rebuild of the two-time premiership winner began as soon as he woke up from his surgery.

The victim mindset he believes he didn’t warrant throughout 2024 was quickly gone, right when you wouldn’t have blamed him for using it.

“Going under” for the first time in his career for a clean-out on both of his hips, Munster decided he would no longer feel sorry for himself, sending a scary message to the rest of the NRL.

In for the same surgery on the same day, teammates Bronson Garlick and Nick Meaney were told by Munster that he would walk out of surgery first.

(L—R) Cameron Munster, Marion Seve pictured at Melbourne Storm’s pre-season training camp at Torquay beach. Picture: David Geraghty

And that’s what he did.

“I walked straight after, got right out of bed,” Munster said.

“Boys thought I was mad; might’ve been the painkillers I was on.”

Despite quickly moving following his double hip surgery, he wasn’t straight back into training, and was unable to do any physical exercise for the first four weeks of recovery.

However, Munster believes his patience paid off, having one of his best pre-seasons in his career.

“I was ahead of schedule just because of the way I was eating, and I think I was really making a priority on letting my body recover well. It’s definitely paid dividends,” Munster said.

FRONT DOOR FAMOUS

While Munster’s recovery has led to what he called a ‘great pre-season’, the Storm five-eighth admits he may have put a little bit more pressure on his partner, Bianca, during the period.

The long-time couple, who got married on New Year’s Eve in 2023 and have three kids of their own, looked more like a parent-child relationship for the eight-week recovery, according to Munster.

“Had both crutches on for a little bit, so my wife at home pretty much did a whole heap of things for me,” Munster said.

“I was very appreciative. Having three kids is hard enough as it is, but having a fourth kid run around with crutches on wasn’t great.”

Despite acting like a child for a bit of his off-season, Munster has found his three children have given him the perfect escape from rugby league.

Between his two sons, Jaxon and Jagger, along with his newborn daughter, Blake, Munster has finally learned that despite the challenges of parenting, it has changed the way he’s seen life.

The Storm five-eighth even compared his life as a dad to country music artist Luke Combs’ hit song, “Front Door Famous.”

“The song resonates with my family. Coming home, they don’t care what I do, they just yell out ‘daddy’ and come to me,” Munster said.

“I’m very lucky to have kids.”

Cameron Munster with his wife Bianca, and three children Jaxon, Jagger and Blake. Picture: Instagram

GRAND FINAL RE-MATCH

When Munster is away on Thursday for the grand final rematch against Penrith, his attention will turn from being a dad to taking the Storm to a 2-0 start.

However, the veteran playmaker refuses to treat the clash as a revenge game, rather focusing on making himself and his team as big of a premiership threat as possible.

“We can’t afford to play our grand final in round three,” Munster said.

“Last year was disappointing for us, but we are now 1-1. We won in 2020, and they won in 2024.

“There’s no revenge or anything like that. If we worry about that and worry about what happened last year, it’s going to take away from what we want to do this year.”

Reviewing last year’s grand final at the Storm’s infamous Geelong training camp, Munster assured they have taken their learnings from a game where he believes they failed to ice key moments.

Sitting as competition heavyweights, Munster is sure his team and squad have what it takes to go one better in 2025.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work, but this club and this squad is willing to do that,” he said.

“We are in a good spot, but only we can get ourselves over the hump we ran into.”

MELBOURNE STORM V PENRITH PANTHERS

Teams: Latest news, late mail and more here

Odds: Melbourne Storm $1.35, Penrith Panthers $3.15

Start time: Thursday, 20 March, 8pm (AEDT)

When/where to watch: Kayo, Foxtel and Channel 9

Originally published as Melbourne Storm v Penrith Panthers live updates and results