Cameron Munster has ruled out a move to the Perth Bears in 2027, declaring he will complete the final two years of his contract at the Storm in the wake of Jonah Pezet’s move.
The star five-eighth has been linked with a switch to the new NRL franchise for their inaugural season, however he has now confirmed Storm bosses “don’t want me going”.
Speaking to Code Sports, the 31-year-old explained he had sat down with Melbourne powerbrokers to end the “speculation” which has been around for “ages”.
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“I will honour my contract and the club doesn’t want to let me go,” Munster said.
“If they don’t want me any longer than those two years, and they want to push me out in a wheelchair, then that’s what they will have to do.
“I have spoken to Melbourne and, even if there was an inkling of the door being ajar to leave, they don’t want me going.
“They don’t know where that (speculation) came from. It didn’t come from my management.”
Cameron Munster won’t be leaving the Storm.Source: Getty Images
The speculation around Munster was also due to Pezet’s contract situation, which has reportedly since been solved.
Pezet’s path to first grade was blocked, and Munster’s exit to the Bears was considered a potential opening in the Storm spine.
However, Munster will now partner Jahrome Hughes until at least the end of the 2027 season and the Queensland captain admitted he understood why Pezet made his decision to leave.
He also backed the Melbourne club to once again uncover a talented half to take over once his contract comes to an end.
“Pez has gone and I’m disappointed that he’s left but he obviously felt for his own self and development that he needed to go and play somewhere else,” Munster said.
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“I know he had a great relationship with Rylesy (Eels coach Jason Ryles) and they will do well with him there next year and the Broncos then get him the year after.
“I am sure our club and recruitment will end up finding some hidden gem somewhere in the rough and develop him into a legend, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Had Pezet have stayed at the club, there was also a possibility of Munster shifting into the No.1 jersey with the future of Ryan Papenhuyzen also up in the air.
Papenhuyzen has been heavily linked with a move to rebel rugby competition R360, which would also see the star fullback be handed a 10-year ban from ARLC competitions.
“There was obviously chat around me playing fullback if Paps went to R360. I just said, ‘Whatever is best for the squad’. It didn’t really faze me too much,” Munster said to the SMH.
“If Paps was still here then I’d stay at No.6, but if he decided to move on, and they didn’t have an option, I’d have played at fullback.
“Whatever they wanted me to do, whatever they felt was best for the squad. It didn’t really bother me what number was on my back as long as I was still playing footy.
“Could I have played my best footy at fullback? Who knows? But I did get asked, and I was happy to do it – but that was only under the condition of certain blokes not being there.”
As for those conversations, Munster explained it Storm bosses were simply trying to work out where their star players could slot in moving forward.
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“I think they were just trying to figure out where we could fit everyone in. We’ve got some great depth in our spine and they probably [improved] faster than we expected,” he said.
That happens. You can see that with Penrith. They’ve lost a lot of good players. I think that comes with playing grand finals and having success.
“Other teams want to start grabbing those guys that are developing quicker. Pez is no exception.”
Pezet, meanwhile, had a clause inserted in his contract that rendered him a free agent should Hughes re-sign, which he did earlier this season.
Munster has been named in the No.6 jersey alongside Nathan Cleary for the first Ashes Test, set to kick off at 12:30am (AEDT) on Sunday morning.