Munster to sign with NRL’s Storm till 2023

Melbourne’s chief playmaker Cameron Munster will sign a lucrative new four-year deal to stay the NRL powerhouse.

The out of contract five-eighth has agreed to the terms on a $3.6 million deal to extend his stay at the Storm until the end of the 2023 season, the Courier Mail reports.

The 24-year-old Kangaroos and Queensland Maroons star will sign his new contract when he returns from an overseas holiday.

“We’re thrilled that Cameron will be staying,” Storm football operations chief Frank Ponissi told the newspaper.

“We will finalise the deal in the next week or so. We’re not far away.

“It was playing on Cam’s mind a bit so he wanted to get the deal done.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about several clubs chasing him and Cameron was worried we might get the wrong idea, but I understand it’s a compliment for his ability and it’s understandable if clubs are genuinely interested.

“Cameron has handled the whole process well but we’re glad he will have a long-term future with the Storm.”

Munster provided a career-high 15 try assists in 2018 and was named the Melbourne’s player of the year.

Despite being sinbinned twice in the Storm’s 21-6 grand final loss to Sydney Roosters in September, he’s being backed as a future club leader.

Munster had been on the outer before the start of the NRL season and publicly put on notice by both Storm coach Craig Bellamy and captain Cameron Smith that he needed to sort out his off-field issues.

That followed a drunken World Cup incident late last year that resulted in him being hauled back to Melbourne and cut from the emerging leadership group.

Ponissi said Munster had shown much greater maturity since his “tough times”.

“‘Bellyache’ (Bellamy) had to give him a bit of a kick up the backside in regards to his preparation, but Cameron has come a hell of a long way in the last 12 months,” he said.

“We can’t be happier with his development.

“This next deal will keep Cameron here for a number of years and enable him to grow as a leader at our club.”

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