WARNING: Graphic picture
Cameron Munster’s halftime phrases earlier than enjoying on with a finger so badly injured it required surgical procedure was the catalyst for Melbourne Storm’s stirring opening spherical win and laid a platform the injury-hit outfit will construct on this week.
The star Melbourne playmaker may miss as much as 4 weeks after an operation to restore the compound fracture, the extent of which was revealed in grotesque pictures displaying his bone penetrating his pores and skin.
It was one in every of two critical accidents suffered by the Storm within the golden-point win over Parramatta, with winger Xavier Coates hurting his shoulder, demanding replacements in key positions.
Tyran Wishart will put on the No. 6 jersey as Munster’s alternative.
Melbourne captain Christian Welch revealed even he thought his group was “in trouble” down 6-0 at halftime and already undermanned earlier than Munster instilled the kind of confidence and perception the Storm will take into this Saturday’s first residence recreation for the season in opposition to the Bulldogs at AAMI Park.
“We play with some really great players and really at the end it boils down to their competitive nature I think. We came in, we’re down six nil, and I was even myself as captain of the team I was thinking, it’s gonna be pretty tough, we’ve got guys out already,” Welch stated on Tuesday.
“And then Cam Munster, he’s probably our best player, one of the best players in the world and probably not looking too good.
“But then I got into the sheds, and I think the great players, they give confidence to the rest of the team and just the way he spoke and to settle the group and go like, ‘We got this boys, we’re down six nil, but we’ve worked really hard’.
“And then him obviously returning to the field, I think it was really big for the confidence of the whole group.
“It must have been excruciating. It was a compound fracture … to open the skin and then obviously break the bone, so his ability to handle the ball as well after it was pretty amazing.”
Welch conceded the excitement created by the season-opening win, which continued coach Craig Bellamy’s freakish document of by no means dropping a spherical 1 recreation as Storm coach, given the circumstances, had permeated by way of the group regardless of the damage fallout.
But the captain stated the enter of Geelong AFL legend Joel Selwood, who has joined the membership as a management mentor after main the Cats to the premiership in 2022, had given him and the gamers a brand new perspective on how following the “process” was essential to driving the highs and lows of an extended season.
“I think at the Storm we were very reactive to if we win or lose a game, and I think that really sets the tone of training during the week and Joel is really process driven,” Welch stated.
“Obviously, you want to win games, but if you keep sticking to the process, good things will happen over the long run.
“So (Selwood’s) big mantra was when you come in on a Monday you shouldn’t be able to tell if we won or lost in terms of I suppose the mood of the group.
“So it’s been a thing for me as well.
“And I think it’s easy when you’re playing in a Craig Bellamy team to be fully serious, which we are, but at the same time, let’s have a good time while we’re on this journey.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
