Cameron Munster has thanked his partner’s family for keeping him in clean clothes after packing for a fortnight but spending five months in camp with the NRL premiers on the Sunshine Coast.
On Sunday night Melbourne claimed the NRL’s toughest premiership with a win over Penrith, and Munster revealed just how confusing the season had been for the club.
Boasting a V for Victoria on his chest and a beer in hand following the win at ANZ Stadium, Munster said he felt deeply for those who were doing it much tougher than the NRL side.
But he gave a glimpse into the difficulties they faced as the coronavirus pandemic gripped Victoria, forcing the Storm to move to Albury and then to Sunshine Coast to keep the game alive.
Constantly relocating caused mass confusion for the side who originally thought they would be in Queensland for a fortnight.
Munster says he packed accordingly, and has been living in two weeks’ worth of clothes for the past five months with the help of his partner Bianca McMahon’s family.
“I literally brought only two-and-a-half weeks worth of gear,” he said.
“Luckily enough for me my partner’s mum and dad live down the road (from the camp) so I was getting them to wash my clothes every week.
“When we had time to go out of the bubble I just got (Bianca) to get my clothes. It’s embarrassing but it is what it is.
“I got the occasional old man’s jocks and brother’s jocks in my stuff and I said ‘this ain’t mine’ but other than that, I was very lucky to have her in my bubble.
“She’s done a lot for me and her family has been very supportive as well, so I can’t thank them enough.”
McMahon was a flight attendant with Tiger Air in Melbourne but was made redundant, meaning she was able join Munster in camp before the Victorian border closed.
“There’s a lot more people doing it tougher in Melbourne,” he said.
“I’ve been very lucky to have her around and her family supporting me, and what they’ve done for me is second to none.”
Their situation is just one of many in the Storm camp as coach Craig Bellamy revealed he believed harsh restrictions would force some players to return to their families.
Instead, no one left or complained, and the club went on to claim their toughest-ever premiership in extraordinary circumstances.
Players and staff had to consider pregnant partners and family in New Zealand after seeing how difficult it was for the Warriors players not to see their loved ones.
Without certainty over border closures, exemptions or even how long they would be based on the Sunshine Coast, anxieties were high in the Storm camp.
At times Bellamy thought it would be too difficult for some.
“For what our guys have been through and what their families have been through I would put that up the top of grand final wins that we’ve had,” the Storm coach said.
“I always thought 2012 was probably the special one after what happened in 2010, but this year … there’s been some circumstances and situations where I thought some of the guys might have just wanted to pack up and go home.
“But they didn’t.”
Source:: SportsNews
