Queensland star Cameron Munster has declared he will play in next week’s State of Origin opener despite a troublesome foot injury.
The five-eighth trained with the Maroons on Thursday and says while he pulled up sore due to a lack of running over the past month, his foot is good to go for Wednesday’s game one in Townsville.
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“Definitely woke up this morning very sore, not in my foot, but just my legs in general,” Munster said.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had to run at high intensities … body’s feeling good. Can’t wait for Wednesday night.
“To be honest with you, even if it wasn’t good, I’d probably still be playing regardless.
“I’ll make sure I go out there and do my family and my state proud.”
Munster’s fitness has been the biggest worry for coach Paul Green during the early stages of camp, with last year’s player of the series a vital cog in the Maroons’ set-up.
Both he and Melbourne Storm teammate Harry Grant (hamstring) trained at Gold Coast’s CBUS Super Stadium on Friday along with AJ Brimson, who had heavy strapping on his left knee as he deals with bone bruising aggravated in Gold Coast’s NRL defeat to Cronulla last weekend.
Veteran centre Dane Gagai was a notable absentee from the group during the period when media were allowed to observe training on Friday, and it’s unclear if there’s an issue with the 30-year-old.
The Maroons will have a final training run on Sunday on the Gold Coast before travelling to Townsville on Monday ahead of the historic first Origin in north Queensland.
“We’re very fortunate to have it there and we’ll have some mad Queenslanders behind us which is ideal for us going into the first game,” Munster said.
“We just need to build on that and feed off that as well.”
Joey
Guest
They showed him mucking around at training. Then he put up a bomb which skewed horribly off his boot and immediately after he put his foot back to the ground, he hopped on his toes a couple of times. That didn’t look injury-free to me.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Hmm...just listened to Bellamy's pregame presser and he said Munster had been cleared by Med staff last Tuesday so he would have played this weekend if he was at Storm. Looks like he's right to go.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Munster can play on one leg and still win, that's how good a player he is.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Oh yeah, well that sounds good. Not.
Joey
Guest
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s all smoke and mirrors. If there was anything serious, Storm definitely wouldn’t want him to play on. It’s not like they haven’t tried it before with Cherry Evans and the knee-brace - Game 2 2014. He played but NSW won the game. Qld won the series still, but the smokescreen itself didn’t really help.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Just what I didnt want to hear...he will play regardless of foot condition. :unhappy: We might just get to see Nichos skills at 6 for the rest of the season.