Cameron Munster ‘most likely’ set to hit open market as Melbourne Storm fight to keep marquee man
Cameron Munster will “most likely” hit the open market on November 1 as the Melbourne Storm continues to struggle to hold its marquee man.
The 27-year-old Origin star remains signed for 2023, but with no deal finalized for a finals extension, it seems likely he will test his market value later this year.
Munster has been linked with a move to the Dolphins on several occasions, with legendary coach Wayne Bennett publicly expressing his desire to lure the QLD Maroons to Redcliffe at five-eighths.
But after an article in The courier post On Wednesday afternoon, Munster’s manager and NRL 360 presenter Braith Anasta moved to clarify the details of his client’s next deal.
“I want to clarify a few things here – Cameron is still negotiating with Melbourne Storm at the moment,” Anasta said.
“You have been incredible throughout the process. Matt Tripp is doing everything in his power to keep Cameron at the club.
“But as things stand now, the most likely at this point is that we’ll be going to market in November.
“Things could change in the meantime – that’s how it is now.”
“Probably 3 or 4 [clubs after Munster]”
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Munster has continued to prove himself the best player in the game in 2022, but his current salary is still under the magic $1 million a year mark
Bennett and his company are likely to offer Munster more than Melbourne can afford, but his manager admitted he would take a little less to stay on long-term.
“He would definitely take slight undershoots, there’s no doubt about that,” Anasta said.
“You can talk [Cameron] now – it’s probably three or four [clubs].
“They denied this, but they [Melbourne] have already given us three or four deadlines. That’s just the way it is and hopefully they’ll get to a point where Cameron’s really happy.
“Melbourne has been great throughout the process and he still has a chance to be in Melbourne, I just wanted to make that clear.”
As for why the Storm have not been able to improve their offer to keep Munster, Anasta believes it can be attributed to the reluctance of a host of other big names to sign sizable long-term deals.
“I think ideally, me and Cameron on the Cap would like to move more on the Cap than where they are right now,” he said.
“When they signed [Ryan] Papenhuyzen, [Jahrome] Hughes, [Harry] Grant and [Xavier] Coates, who unfortunately limited their potential for the cap because they prioritized these players.
“That’s where we are at the moment – hopefully they can kind of move between now and November.
“It doesn’t mean he won’t sign there before because he loves the club – he could sign after November.”