Melbourne Storm’s captain, Harry Grant, has swiftly come to the defense of his teammate, Cameron Munster, as whispers circulated that he might be excluded from the QLD Maroons squad due to poor form.
Munster, along with his Storm teammates, silenced these rumors after a remarkable 44-16 victory over the Wests Tigers on Sunday, marking a strong comeback following seven consecutive losses. This impressive performance lifted a significant amount of pressure that had been mounting in Victoria, with the Storm easily overcoming the Wests Tigers on Mother’s Day.
The team’s spine was instrumental in the match, with Grant commending Munster’s performance, who scored two tries in a clear show of improvement.
“He’s one of the harshest critics of himself. He really demands a lot from himself and I think sometimes he really tries to bring other people into the game,” Grant said after the match.
“Cam Munster is the strength of the team when he gets his game on, and I think he’s the ultimate competitor. I think he’s just shown that over the last little bit.
“I think today we had some people inside and outside that got their roles done, which really helped him play his game and perform to the level that we know he can.
“I think people are pretty quick to jump to criticism. I sort of steer clear from it, and fingers crossed he has and I guess he knows how good he is.
“We’ve got to just keep reminding him of that and hopefully bring that (success) to our team.”
Despite some calls for Munster to be replaced in the Origin arena, he responded with a quality performance that reminded fans of his elite skill set.
With people hoping for another option in the QLD Maroons, former NRL star Matty Johns was surprised by the suggestion.
“There has been a bit of talk about whether Munster will be picked for Origin… it’d just be diabolical (if they don’t pick him),” Johns said on Fox League’s Sunday Night with Matty Johns.
Coach Craig Bellamy also praised his skipper, Grant, calling his performance “inspirational.”
“I thought his game was inspirational to be quite honest,” Bellamy said.
“He’s a bit knocked around as well, and I thought ‘Hughesy’ and ‘Mun’ just had a bit of a look in their eye where (it was like) okay, we’re going to take control of this and we’ll see the 80 minutes out.”
Grant and Munster are among the key players expected to be selected for the QLD Maroons next week ahead of Game 1, which is set to kick off on May 27.
