Craig Bellamy's revelation about Cameron Munster amid ugly dramas at Melbourne Storm
Munster is still no certainty to play for Melbourne after a nagging injury,
Storm coach Craig Bellamy admits the injury to Storm playmaker Cameron Munster has left everyone at the club baffled, but says his representative No.6 is a "pretty good" chance of lining up against the Broncos on Thursday night. Bellamy's side go into the NRL showdown at AAMI Park unbeaten against Brisbane at home in eight years.
It's a formidable record for the Storm and the fitness of Munster could be key to extending the hoodoo over Kevin Walters' side. The Maroons and Kangaroos five-eighth has been battling a groin and hip injury that Bellamy admits has left even the club doctors perplexed, with Munster pulling up fine after training on some days, and sore on others.
Speaking on Wednesday, Bellamy said it would come down to how Munster was feeling on game day, as to whether he plays for the Storm after being named in the halves alongside the returning Jahrome Hughes (suspension). The Storm coach rated Munster a decent chance to play but admitted the wasn't "expecting miracles" from the playmaker against the Broncos.
“There’s a pretty good chance that he might line up,” Bellamy said on Wednesday. “As I’ve said before, you know, the injury’s been fine or seems to be fine, then all of a sudden it flares up again. So, you know, he’s had a couple of the sessions this week that he’s gone pretty well in. So, yeah, so hopefully he pulls up OK tomorrow after today’s session and then we’ll just we’ll just go from there.
“Cameron’s obviously, you know, a really experienced player too so you know we probably missed a little bit of that and we all know what he can do when he’s playing his best. We’re not going to expect miracles from him. He’s missed a lot of time training and he’s missed the trials and first four games of the season, so it'll take him a little bit of getting back into it, I’d imagine.”
Munster did not feature in Melbourne's pre-season trials and has not played in the NRL this season, with Bellamy admitting his understudy Jonah Pezet has done a "good job" in his absence. The Storm coach said one of the most frustrating parts of the saga has been the confusing nature of Munster's injury, with even medical staff at a loss to understand the issue.
"It's been frustrating for him, frustrating for everyone. Pretty good one day, not so good the next," Bellamy added. "He's had a bit of a tough run on it, being up and down and with all due respect has probably got the medical staff a bit confused as well."
Munster has been a regular thorn in Brisbane's side during the Storm's unbeaten run at home against the Broncos over the last eight years. Walters' side did get the monkey off their back by beating Melbourne in last year's semi-final at Suncorp Stadium and will use that as a blueprint to try and snap their AAMI Park hoodoo.
Craig Bellamy identifies threat of Brisbane's Adam Reynolds
The Broncos have a number of key outs including superstars Payne Haas and Reece Walsh but Bellamy is still wary of the threat they pose, especially with veteran halfback Adam Reynolds steering them around the park. "When you've got a guy like Reynolds directing them around the field ... one of the commentators made the statement he kicked them (the Cowboys) to death. He did," Bellamy said. "Hopefully we can get a bit more pressure on him than he had last week."
The Storm also welcome back prop Christian Welch from concussion, but there is still no place for big man Nelson Asofa-Solomona, who remains in the NSW Cup with North Sydney. Bellamy refused to comment on reports the Kiwi international returned during pre-season out of shape, described him as an "asset" to the club and denied suggestions he could be made available to other clubs.
“He’s an important part of our club. We just need him playing well," Bellamy said. He’s had some real hamstring problems and he hasn’t done a lot of work in the pre-season. So that’s a little bit of the problem as well.
“We’re not gonna put him in until he’s ready. He’ll be a real asset to us if we can get him back in and when he gets that time under his belt training and some games. But like I say, he’s just short of that at the moment."
