Cameron Smith to walk finals tightrope

Cameron Smith has been charged and Cameron Munster is racing the clock as they prepare for the preliminary finals.

Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster with his knee strapped in ice

Melbourne five-eighth Cameron Munster looks set to overcome a longstanding knee problem to play in the preliminary final while captain Cameron Smith is destined to head into that game walking another finals tightrope after being charged by the match review committee.

Munster limped off the field during the second half of his side’s win over Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, having aggravated a medial ligament problem he has carried for much of the season.

His reaction prompted fears his season could be over — he threw his mouthguard away in disgust as he made his way to the sideline. However, Storm officials were optimistic on Sunday afternoon, their confidence so high they were considering not even sending Munster for a scan on the troublesome knee.

“I’m optimistic and that’s all you can be,” he said last night. “It’s still a little bit sore and is a little bit bruised but I will ice it, rehab it, do the stuff I need to strengthen up my knee and hopefully I can stay on the park for more than one week.”

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Munster has been troubled by the knee for most of the season and went into the game with heavy strapping on his leg. The No 6 is arguably the Storm’s most important player, even in a side that boasts the guile and experience of Smith and the explosive speed of fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen.

Smith and Papenhuyzen were both outstanding in the win over the Eels, the latter providing his best performance of the year on the biggest stage.

Papenhuyzen finished the game with two tries, two try assists and a whopping 265 metres. He blew the Eels away with his speed, to the point that coach Craig Bellamy claimed the Storm wouldn’t have won the game without their No 1.

Smith was his normal reliable self in the game but finished the match on report for a lifting tackle on Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown, the match review committee laying a grade one charge on Sunday morning.

Smith is expected to enter an early guilty plea, which would leave him with 75 carry-over points heading into the preliminary final. The alternative would be to fight the charge, lose at the judiciary and risk being suspended for one game.

The Storm believe they would have a case to have Smith exonerated, but are likely to take the former option because they are wary of risking the loss of their talisman and skipper for the grand final qualifier.

That will leave Smith facing a grand final ban for the most minor of offences should he be charged in the preliminary final. Smith is no stranger to missing big games through on-field indiscretions.

In 2008, he was suspended for the grand final after being charged with a grapple tackle on Brisbane’s Sam Thaiday in the preliminary final. That incident, and the outrage that followed, prompted the match review committee to remove the two-year period which added loading for prior offences.

The NRL also changed the rules to reduce carry-over points by five for each game played. Smith has arguably more at stake this time around. When he missed the grand final in 2008, he was in the early stages of what has gone on to become one of the game’s greatest careers.

As he approaches the 2020 decider, he is keeping everyone guessing on whether the grand final would be the swansong for a player many regard as the greatest in the game’s history.

Smith has been coy about his plans and there has been speculation a grand final win would convince him to draw the curtain on his career. For that to be a possibility, he will have to make sure he stays out of trouble in the preliminary final.