Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has come to the defence of Cameron Munster, firing back at his playmaker's critics after the Maroons was cleared of wrongdoing over another "niggling" incident in the second State of Origin.
Munster has been stoking a reputation this season synonymous with foul play after a string of recent off-ball incidents rubbed fans the wrong way.
It came to the fore again in Origin II when the Maroons five-eighth was cited for making questionable contact on Blues captain James Tedesco with his knees. He escaped sanction after the NRL's match review committee chose not to lay a charge.
It means Munster is expected to back up against the Chooks on Thursday night in Newcastle, and despite the recent brewing criticism, Bellamy went into bat for his playmaker.
"I thought the incident the other day that everyone seemed to be talking about, he was going for the ball, James was going for the ball as well, and I thought he really tried to pull up," Bellamy said on Wednesday.
"He could have kept going, which could have put James in more danger. I think the match review committee saw it the same way.
"He's a competitive monster, as everyone knows. A couple of times he has been over the top, we all put our hand up to say that and Cameron does as well.
"But I thought the criticism from Sunday night's game was a little bit unfair."
Bellamy said Munster was unfazed by the mounting criticism of his recent actions, which has seen him come under fire for kicking-out on multiple occasions.
"Not overly," he said.
"He just needs to concentrate on his game for tomorrow night, then he can start thinking about Origin three."
Bellamy's stance follows recent calls from NRL guru Phil Gould who said Munster's less than impressive displays on the field are a result of his restricted game time this season.
"He looks frustrated as a footballer, I don't think he's battle-hardened," Gould said on Nine's 100% Footy.
"He's had a number of weeks off with injury, he came into Origin underdone, played poorly on the end of a wrong scoreline. He hasn't been enough with his Melbourne side to sure up all those little disciplines and things that used to be in his game. He's come back into another Origin team and played poorly again."
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