Cameron Munster is caught in the middle of a “personal” battle between the Melbourne Storm and Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett.
But now it’s up to Storm to put their money where their mouths are and show that they value Munster as one of the game’s top players, according to Fox League experts Benji Marshall and Cooper Cronk.
Munster pledged to play Storm on Saturday until the end of the 2023 season amid Bennett’s claims that the Dolphins were confident of signing him.
The Storm took the unusual step of convening an unscheduled press conference for Munster’s announcement in a possible signal that Bennett’s comments have scared the club.
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Maroons star Munster is out of contract at the end of next season, but said Bennett was probably “stirring the pot” suggesting he could get a release to join them next season.
“I’m not sure if rules are being broken, if there were any, I’m pretty sure the NRL would go over (them),” Cronk told the Fox League of Drama and Saturday’s press conference .
“For me, it’s probably just getting a little personal between the storm in Melbourne and Wayne Bennett and the Dolphins, and Munster is stuck in the middle.
“Think about what Redcliffe has already recruited from Melbourne Storm, the Bromwich boys, (Felise) Kaufusi, three representation players, so there’s no doubt Wayne is trying to shake up, trying to bother to get one of the best players in our game at the time to go join the Redcliffe Dolphins.
“Because his pre-season starts in a few months, but I think Cameron is showing up in the name of the Melbourne storm, he’s obviously going to deny any conversation.”
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Munster has been reported to have rejected an extension worth about $ 750,000 a year to stay with the storm beyond 2023, a significant pay cut from its current deal of $ 1.1 million per season.
Marshall said Saturday’s events could be a sign that the storm will find a way to keep its star creator.
“I hope that means Melbourne might reinvest in Cameron Munster in the long run because you think from Cameron’s point of view, the storm has invested a lot in all the other players except Cameron Munster,” Marshall said.
“They’ve given up all these other guys before him, which tells me that’s his preference. Cameron has come out to support the storm, so does that mean the storm will support him in the long run? I hope do it.
“From Wayne’s perspective, I don’t really think Wayne has done anything wrong. That’s happening … they’re trying to get him that release and they want him to do it because they need to sign players, most clubs do.
“… If the Melbourne Storm really believes that Cameron Munster is the best player and the most important player in the competition … sign him. Take it off the table. Pay him what he deserves and take him out of the books so that this stops. Otherwise, this will continue until it is clear what he is doing. “