Melbourne are tapping into the secrets of champions including match-winning halfback Cooper Cronk and AFL title-holders Richmond as they bid to crack another NRL crown.
Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster helped orchestrate a 22-14 victory over North Queensland in their Saturday afternoon trial in Melbourne, with two tries coming off his boot.
Munster said his kicking game had been an off-season focus, working with Cronk as well as Richmond assistant and VFL 2019 premiership coach Craig McRae.
Despite being the architect of their 2018 grand final loss after switching from the Storm to the Sydney Roosters, retired Cronk still has a soft spot for Melbourne after spending 14 seasons there.
He’s the Roosters’ specialist halves coach and is working with AFL club GWS but Munster said he was still helping Storm players.
“I’ve been working on my kicking game with Cooper Cronk and also Craig McRae from Richmond so it’s very pleasing at the moment so hopefully it comes off in round one,” Munster said.
“Cooper’s been an integral part of this club for a long time and we’d be stupid not to pick his brain with what he brought into game as a half.
“He’s only a phone call away for any of us.”
Richmond coach McRae has worked intermittently with the Storm for the past four years but has spent plenty of time this pre-season fine-tuning their kicking game.
“He’s doing wonders for our kicking group at the moment,” Munster said.
“He’s obviously won premierships and coached with Damien Hardwick there at the Tigers so they’ve obviously got a method so we want to pick that and see what they do as they go into games.
“They’re great players with the way they kick the ball and it’s efficient so if we can do something similar in our games … they’re different but there are similarities.”
Munster and halves partner Jahrome Hughes looked like they’d taken their partnership to a new level, earning the praise of Storm coach Craig Bellamy.
“They’ve trained all pre-season so I’d like to think they’ve made improvements there,” Bellamy said.
“They’ve still got a bit to go, to be honest, but there’s obviously been some good signs at training and in this match so hopefully they can stay uninjured and getting better and better.”