{"id":383018,"date":"2024-04-08T23:50:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T23:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=383018"},"modified":"2024-04-09T03:04:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T03:04:05","slug":"grim-munster-comment-to-put-slater-on-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=383018","title":{"rendered":"Grim Munster comment to put Slater on edge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queensland<\/a> coach Billy Slater<\/a> may face a difficult selection decision\ufeff after new comments from Cameron Munster<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The veteran five-eighth returned from injury to help Melbourne to a thrilling 34-32 victory over Brisbane<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n

But the groin problem which kept him out of the first four weeks of the season continues to hamper the 29-year-old.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Alleged Burgess 'kerfuffle' in Crowe's Bunnies box<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Slater's Walsh chat that points to Broncos shake-up<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Players abandon final after one minute due to 'rebellion'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

While he hopes to remain on the field for the Storm this season, he's conceded he will be far from full fitness.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffThe body's probably going to be 70 or 80 per cent most games," Munster said on Monday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"I've just got to \ufeffbe mentally strong enough to play and get through it.<\/p>\n

"It was a good stepping \ufeffstone on Thursday night. I'm not going to be great every week.<\/p>\n

"At times I'm going to be pretty good, and sometimes I'm going to be crap."<\/p>\n

Those comments should set alarm bells ringing for Slater, who is gunning for a third straight State of Origin series victory as coach.<\/p>\n

Munster has only missed one Origin game since making his debut for Queensland at the end of the 2017 series.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And while he's one of the first players picked by the Maroons each year, it's dangerous to take injured players into the most brutal arena in rugby league.<\/p>\n

If Slater does leave Munster out of the side, Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga has put his hand up to step in.<\/p>\n

Ponga came onto the bench in his Origin debut but has played his six other games at fullback for Queensland.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With the No.1 jumper now filled by Broncos young gun Reece Walsh, Ponga's best way back into the team may be at five-eighth.<\/p>\n

He would have to beat out the likes of Tom Dearden and Ezra Mam for the right to partner veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans.<\/p>\n

But the Knights superstar is ready to do it if asked.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffDefinitely, yeah," Ponga said on Monday.<\/p>\n

"Billy is a great coach, I love playing for Queensland\ufeff and I love playing for him.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffWhatever decision he makes I'll support him if it's best for the team."<\/p>\n

The Origin opener is in Sydney on June 5.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Queensland coach Billy Slater may face a difficult selection decision\ufeff after new comments from Cameron Munster. The veteran five-eighth returned from injury to help Melbourne […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":383020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=383018"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":383022,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383018\/revisions\/383022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/383020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=383018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=383018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=383018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}