‘We didn’t really like each other’: The rivalry set to light up grand final
Cameron Munster’s rivalry with Liam Martin has rolled from Townsville to the north of England – and even dragged in the Penrith star’s mother Maxine.
So Munster is on red alert when Martin promises to rip into Melbourne’s million-dollar playmaker in Sunday’s grand final at Accor Stadium.
The pair’s clashes have been among the NRL’s most entertaining since it – literally – kicked off, when Martin baited Munster into booting him as he lay on the ground during his 2021 State of Origin debut.
Martin’s Mum Maxine spoke on Sydney radio about her own reaction to the incident that saw Munster fined the following day, while the pair’s rivalry continued when they toured the UK with the Kangaroos for the 2022 World Cup.
Two of the game’s most notorious chirpers squabbled regularly throughout the six-week tournament, with Munster remembering Martin’s niggling on and off the field.
“It’s funny, looking back on it, we didn’t really like each other in Aussie camps,” Munster said on Monday. “We get along pretty well at the moment, but I’m sure it will be different on Sunday.
Liam Martin and Cameron Munster tangle in club colours.Credit: NRL Imagery
“We’ve always had a good rivalry, me and Liam, always wanted to be competitive and get over each other, and it will be no different this time.
“He will want to take my head off and vice versa. He is a quality player, very strong and very aggressive. I like the way he goes about his business but on Sunday, I have just got to play my footy, not get into taking his head off or fuelling the fire.
“He’s tried to get under my skin and it worked a fair few times. I have just got to go out there and not get frazzled.”
Martin was labelled a “grub” by Queensland media during last year’s Origin series, a tag that had Maxine up in arms again. Martin has always been happy to play up to the reputation, though, and helped fan it by declaring he planned to “test out” Munster’s fractured ribs at the time.
Booting the boot in: Munster’s infamous run-in with Martin in 2021.Credit: NRL Imagery
Asked if he would be out to target the Storm No.6 or goad him into error come grand final day, Martin told AAP: “I’m going to have to.
“He’s such a quality player and I love coming up against him in the battles that we have, so this will be no different.”
Munster has a history of losing his cool on the biggest stage, becoming the only player to be sin-binned twice in a grand final after he kicked Joey Manu in the 2018 decider.
His most famous clash with Martin came late in the Blues’ 50-6 demolition in Townsville – the biggest NSW win in Origin history.
Along with Nelson Asofa-Solomona, who needs a judiciary miracle on Monday night to play against Penrith, and Christian Welch, Munster is the only remaining Storm player from the 2018 grand final defeat to the Roosters, led by a half-crippled Cooper Cronk.
The Roosters halfback played that match with a badly broken scapula, and the parallels with the Panthers and Nathan Cleary are obvious.
Cleary is likely to need off-season surgery on his injured shoulder but dismissed concerns after aggravating it late against Cronulla. Regardless, Munster and halves partner Jahrome Hughes said they would heed the lessons of their failed efforts to target Cronk six years ago.
“I think if we focus too much on him and his injury, then I think that’s not going to go well for us,” Hughes said.
“A few of the boys played in the ’18 grand final and they bring up that they probably focused on Cooper too much, more than they needed to, and it probably came back to bite them.
“We’ve fully learned from that as a club, and we probably won’t be looking at that too much and be more focusing on what we could do as a team to be better.”
Munster added: “He’s a quality player and the way he has gone about it [playing through pain], he’s a tough player. He’s one of the best halves the comp has seen for a long time.”
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