Melbourne will need to fight hard to keep Cameron Munster after his manager Braith Anasta revealed that at this stage in negotiations his client will test his value on the open market.
The Courier Mail reported Munster rejected the Storm’s three-year extension offer worth $800,000 a season, with a host of rivals led by the Dolphins preparing monster offers to lure him away from Melbourne.
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However, Munster’s manager Braith Anasta clarified the reports on NRL 360.
“Earlier today Peter Badel posted this story on the Courier Mail website saying, Cameron Munster rejects latest Storm deal, officially on market come November 1,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
“That was misleading. There was some miscommunication there. I just wanted to clarify a few things.
“Cameron is still negotiating with the Melbourne Storm at the moment. They have been unbelievable throughout the process.
“Matt Tripp is doing everything in his power to keep Cameron at the club.
“But as it stands right now it looks most likely at this point that we will go to market in November, but things could change between now and then. That’s where it is at right now.”
Paul Kent put to Anasta what it would take for Munster to sign an extension before the November 1 deadline.
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“What has got to change between now and November 1?” Kent asked Anasta.
“I know it is money, but is it the length of the deal? How much do the Storm have to shift their position to ensure he doesn’t go to market?”
“I think ideally Cameron and myself would like them to move more on the salary cap than where they are at right now,” Anasta said.
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“Unfortunately when they signed Papenhuyzen, Hughes, Grant and Coates that unfortunately limited their ability to move on the cap because they prioritized those players.
“That is where we are at. Hopefully they may be able to move somehow between now and November 1.
“It doesn’t mean that he won’t sign before then because he loves the club. He may sign after November.
“He would definitely take slight unders there is no doubt about that.”
Anasta also revealed that up to four clubs have approached him about Munster.
“There’s a few, probably three or four clubs,” Anasta said.
“They (Storm) have denied this, but they have given us three or four deadlines already. That’s just the way it is. Hopefully they move to a point where Cameron is really happy.”
Should Munster test his value on the open market, the Dolphins would firm to pull off a $5.2 million mega deal to poach the Queensland Origin star.
However, Anasta denied the Dolphins deal was already over the line as reported by Channel 9’s Ben Dobbin.
“There’s been some talk that he is about to sign with the Dolphins but that’s not the case,” Anasta told The Telegraph.
“Cameron is such a great player and his performances are getting better every week. Why would he rush into a new deal?”
Munster, 27, has scored 45 tries and 269 points in 168 games for the Storm since his debut in 2014 and won premierships in 2017 and 2020,
He has also played 15 Origins for Queensland and four Tests for the Kangaroos and will feature for Australia at the 2022 World Cup barring injury.
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