After successful surgeries on his hips, Cam Munster is not only targeting a Round 1 return, but is also embracing the challenge of regaining his representative jerseys.
The Storm five-eighth battled hip and groin issues all last season, missing two months of football - including the entire State of Origin series for the Maroons - before returning in Round 21 for Melbourne’s run into the grand final where they were downed by Penrith.
As the then incumbent six for the Kangaroos, representative honours in the Pacific Championships beckoned, but Munster opted to go under the surgeon’s knife; repairing a bone spur issue and labrum tear on his left side as well as labrum tears on his ‘completely stuffed’ right side.
“Both my hips have been done, so no groin pain, which is nice," Munster said.
“I feel good, but I won't be able to run until about February.
"They're just not going to push me as fast as or as hard as I want to go, so it’s slowly but surely.
“I'll be ready to go by Round 1 [against Parramatta on March 9], which is myself penciling that in. I'll hopefully be full running in contact by February, hopefully get a trial in, been speaking to the physios about it, so we'll see where we're at.
"It's all about how well the body pulls up and then if I do everything can tick all the boxes that they want me to tick …
"I'm one of those guys that want to be out there, bull at a gate and wanting to do everything they can at such a fast pace, bit like my personality … at times it is going to get frustrating because I won't be able to do certain things that I want to do ... it's going to be a slow process and it's going to be a long process for myself.
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"I've never had an injury this long, so I feel for the guys that have had ACLs and shoulder reconstructions, I definitely know their pain. It's definitely struggling times, but once you get out the other side and you play some good footy, and hopefully I can, it's going to be all worth it.”
Munster’s absence for both Queensland and Australia saw his understudy Dearden grasp his opportunities with both hands, being named the Ron McAuliffe Medal winner as Queensland’s player of the series, as well as being named player of the match as Australia held out Tonga in the final of the Pacific Cup during the Pacific Championships, with the Storm premiership winner looking forward to the work ahead of him to earn his jerseys back.
“It's always good to play it for your state and especially your country," Munster said.
“I've had Tommy Dearden this year take over the reins and god, he played some good footy, didn't he?
“We have got some great competition and that's what brings the best out of you.
“I have got to get fitter and now they've got Tommy breathing down my neck.
It's great, it's good for the game.
“It's good for the competition, especially for Queensland, when you got guys like that wanting to push for positions, just makes you want to improve your game and I'm sure he's going back and working even harder than he has been this year and I'm going to do the same.
“It's exciting and I'm really excited to see how I go."
Munster also had added motivation for wanting to play in Origin next year, saying that Storm coach Craig Bellamy called him before accepting the role as an advisor to the coaching staff with Laurie Daley and the NSW Blues.
“He rang me, asked if it was alright, so I'm pretty much I'm pretty much his dad," Munster joked.
"It's an awesome opportunity for him. I know it's probably frustrating for some of the players in our team because we're going to go up against him in Origin, but he's Storm first, he'll worry about that stuff later. He's always got that mindset of he's more present than he is (looking) to the future.
“He'll make sure we get everything right first before he goes away to the camp.
“He might learn some stuff off some other people like Laurie or other coaching stuff. You just never know, you always learn something new every day and he could end up bringing something back for us, which is surprisingly weird for the bloke that's probably been around the game for a long time.
“But I'm sure he'll get something out of it and hopefully we get the wood over him because I love to.”
While Origin is one goal, overall, Munster wants to help guide the Storm back to the finals next season and said a new perspective had reignited his desire to make the most of his playing career.
“I just want to be better than I was last year, I know it's not very hard to do for myself, but I know for a fact that I've only got a certain amount of years left to play footy, so I want to get the best out of it," Munster - who turns 31 next year - said.
“I wish I'd had that mindset five years ago, but now looking at it, I've had some good final runs, but haven't had that cherry on top since 2020, so that's something that's a driving factor.
“We all want to win, but how hard are we willing to work to win, you know?
“That's something that I've really been thinking about; putting myself in uncomfortable positions and trying to work hard, a little bit harder than I was in previous years and trying to get a lot fitter.
“So if I can do that, it's going to be a lot easier for the team.”
Match: Storm v Eels
Round 1 -
home Team
Storm
away Team
Eels
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
