Melbourne have vowed to target Michael Morgan during Sunday’s NRL grand final in an effort to arrest the North Queensland’s playmaker’s peerless form.
The Storm remain on high alert for danger man Morgan after watching him seamlessly step into Johnathan Thurston’s shoes and lead the Cowboys to the game’s biggest stage.
Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster described Morgan as the form player of the competition while halfback Cooper Cronk argued his opposite number had surpassed him on current form.
Munster revealed they had hatched a plan to get up in Michael Morgan’s face and made no secret of their desire to nullify his influence and rattle his cage.
“I want to try and get it over Morgs but he’s playing some good football and on Sunday hopefully we can get into him a bit and take him off his game,” Munster told AAP.
“He’s going to be a big factor if they’re going to win the comp.
“We’ve just got to minimise his space and go from there.
“You can do certain things to class players and he’s one of them.”
The Munster v Morgan battle will be an intriguing sub-plot of Sunday’s grand final with a berth in the Australian halves alongside Cronk for the upcoming World Cup potentially on the line.
Munster laid down the challenge to his Queensland State of Origin teammate after watching him lead the Cowboys to back-to-back-to-back upset wins over Cronulla, Parramatta and the Sydney Roosters during the finals.
During that time Morgan has been in a purple patch the likes of which the competition hasn’t seen for many years.
In these last three weeks he has come up with one try, four try assists, two try assists, five linebreak assists as well as potting two field goals.
“Getting up in his face and cutting down his time – that’s all you can do,” Munster said.
“Hopefully that’s enough to win the game on Sunday.”
John
Guest
Yeah I would say they did learn by not calling out JT13. Changed the target, gotta wonder if it will change the result.
Dean N
Guest
The story is that beat up.
Dean N
Guest
Wouldn't be surprised if the story is a beat up. The media and fans of other teams are the only ones saying that The Storm have got this game in the bag. I haven't heard anyone from The Melbourne Storm or their fans saying that they are going to win this game. If anything, The Cowboys after playing three tough games in just as many weeks, are nicely tuned and are purring along very nicely. If anyone thinks The Cowboys can't win this game, then that's just stupid in my opinion. You know The Storm are admired down here when a top rating radio station 3AW, are broadcasting the match live. This is the same radio station that is all things AFL and the only time you hear them mention rugby league is to mock the game. This is how far The Melbourne Storm have come in enemy territory. I don't know any sports fan down here who doesn't have admiration for what the Storm have achieved, regardless if they win or lose on Sunday. Full credit to the people in the front office for the way they have made this club into a power house. Full credit must go to The Storm fans who seem to grow larger in size each year and still kept supporting the team, even when they were playing for no points a few years ago. May the best team win on the day. Go Storm.
Edward Kelly
Roar Guru
In the last two games Morgan has seemed to have ages to play or kick the ball, I'm sure the Storm will change that. Shut down Morgan and the Cowboys will struggle.
KingCowboy
Guest
Gezz you think after the Roosters did the same thing to Lolo, teams would learn. Anyway, good luck with that Muster!