Veteran Storm coach Craig Bellamy has given his blessing to Cameron Munster to finish his career with the PNG Chiefs if the five-eighth decides that’s the best move for him and his family.

Munster is in his 13th season with the Storm and still has another year to run on his deal, but he could be on the move in 2028 after it was revealed this week that the club had given him permission to negotiate with the Chiefs.

The Queensland captain turns 32 in a few weeks but would be a wonderful veteran presence in PNG where he would partner Jarome Luai in the halves.

There’s still a chance he stays put at the Storm, but Bellamy said his champion five-eighth had earned the right to earn huge money with the expansion side.

“I think ‘Mun’ has done a whole heap for our club, and he’s done it for a long period of time,” he said.

“He’s been a wonderful player for our club, so if he sees that he wants to go to the team in Papua New Guinea then I’d be happy to let him go.

“There are other people in the club that make that decision, and I don’t know if that will be the same decision as me, but he’s done a lot for our club, has been a valuable servant and very loyal.

“If he wants to do that and that’s going to help him in later life then I’m willing to say OK, but there’s got to be a bit of water that flows under the bridge before he goes there, so we’ll just see what happens.

“I’ll go on the record as saying that if he wants to go and his family wants to go, then he goes with my blessing.”

Storm skipper Harry Grant said he couldn’t fault Munster for having a look and that now was a perfect time for him to explore his options given he’s currently sidelined with a knee issue.

“It’ll probably be a busy time with the World Cup and everything like that (later in the year) so it’s probably not a bad time for him to have that look,” Grant said.

“That’s just part of the game. The NRL has brought a couple of new teams in so I don’t think you can fault players for having that opportunity to talk to them.”

Meanwhile, Grant hopes to return this season after he became the latest Storm star to go down injured.

The world’s best hooker left the field just before half-time in his side’s 28-26 loss to Souths with a hamstring concern, with Melbourne now only a mathematical hope of finishing in the top eight.

“It’s just part of footy, but it’s disappointing,” he said in the sheds, worried about the number of injuries in the game.

“It was just running when I was accelerating. It’s part of the game and it’s a pretty common occurrence at the moment from last week into this week on the back of the Origin period. I think that’s got to be looked at a bit.

“It feels pretty similar to the other ones (on my left leg) but you’re just going off your feeling and the memory of last time. I’ll get a scan and go from there.

“Fingers crossed (I play again this year) but you’re a little bit blind until you go for scans and get some feedback.”

Originally published as ‘He goes with my blessing’: Craig Bellamy’s touching message to Cameron Munster as Harry Grant gives an update on his injury