Munster: Storm full of belief despite Asofa-Solomona ban

Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona had his five-match ban upheld on Monday night, but Melbourne’s Cameron Munster insists there is still plenty of belief in the minor premiers’ camp ahead of the 2024 NRL grand final.

“We have full belief, and ‘Bellyache’ (coach Craig Bellamy) has full belief in the blokes that are doing the job and going into that role,” Munster said on Tuesday.

The club unsuccessfully appealed Asofa-Solomona’s ban for a Grade 3 head-high tackle on Lindsay Collins in last weekend’s preliminary final against the Sydney Roosters.

“We probably didn’t have that belief in the last couple of years,” Munster continued.

“In saying that, our leaders probably didn’t step up a whole heap, including myself, over the last couple of years, when we’ve had an opportunity to go deep in the finals.

“We probably just choked — or not choked, but fallen over the last hurdle in certain positions and moments.

“As much as you’d love to have the moments back, sometimes it’s just not a smooth road for you.”

The Storm last won the NRL Premiership in 2020 and have come close since, without any luck.

In 2021 they fell in the preliminary finals after finishing the season top of the ladder, while in 2022 they exited in the first week of the finals.

Last season, Melbourne again fell short in the preliminary finals, crashing out at the hands of the Penrith Panthers — their opponents in Sunday’s championship match.

Munster credits these tough seasons for Melbourne’s readiness to go all the way this weekend.

“We’ve got guys in our team that are probably another year experienced, a little bit more battle-hardened,” he said.

“It’s given them confidence to know that they can go out there and fulfil their role.

“They’re young, they’re really hungry, and you want that in your team.

“We’ve got a good opportunity, we’ve got a great group of blokes that are believing and trusting in the process, in their systems.

“When you’ve got guys like that, that have belief and confidence, you can definitely go deep into a season and be very confident in what your abilities are.”

If the Storm are to claim their fifth premiership, whoever is selected to replace Asofa-Solomona — either Joe Chan or Lazarus Vaalepu — will likely need to play out of their skin.

Even so, top NRL bookmakers have Melbourne and Penrith at level odds of $1.91 to win the 2024 grand final.

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