How Storm scouts snared Munster

Cameron Munster says he "always wanted to be a Bronco" but the story of how the Storm won the battle for his signature is a tribute to talent scouting at its very best.

The Melbourne five-eighth will line up against Brisbane on Friday night with a perfect NRL record at Suncorp Stadium, a venue where he has won all of the four games he has played against the club he supported as a youth.

"As a young kid I obviously always wanted to be a Bronco. That is what I aspired to be because I loved watching them. They were my team," Munster told NRL.com.

"I was in their system when I was 16 or 17… so I was a late bloomer.

"They are one of the best Queensland clubs in the competition and have a rich history especially with Alfie Langer and the great players that have come through the grades at the Broncos.

"Darren Lockyer was my idol, but probably off the field Alfie was my idol.

"So it is always good playing against them. I used to play and train with Crofty [Brodie Croft] so it will be good to play against him and have that competition on our edge.

"I still like the Broncos … but at the end of the day I want to be at my best against them and make sure we are in position at the end of the year to have a real premiership run."

Cameron always had that explosive power for his size and a lot of footy smarts.

St Brendan's coach Terry Hansen

The story of how the Storm snared Munster is a reflection of the scouting nous of what the club calls "the Rockhampton connection" which includes recruitment chief Paul Bunn who was a former teacher at St Brendan's College in the nearby town of Yeppoon.

Paul Grant, the father of Harry Grant, contacted Bunn when he was working in recruitment for Brisbane about a rare talent.

"Pauly Grant rang me when Cameron was around 17  and said there was a really good kid we’d previously had in a T-shirt development camp and I said we would keep an eye on him," Bunn told NRL.com.

Paul Minto, a friend of Bunn’s, and St Brendan’s College coach Terry Hansen also sent texts and made calls to Bunn, who had then moved to the Storm, about the magical Munster.

"Then his agent Shaun Pyne, who was an ex-student of mine at St Brendan’s College, rang me and said we should be looking at him so we got him down to Melbourne," Bunn said.

"He hit it off with Adam O’Brien straight away on his visit. The Broncos had heard about our interest and got him down for a training session or something, but whatever it was the damage was done because Cameron was sold on the Storm and our system.

"He has gone from being a $5000 signing to whatever he is on now, so it has been a pretty good story."

That Rockhampton connection has been good for the Storm.

Hansen, who has coached former Melbourne players such as Kurt Mann and Harry Grant, explained his role in the signing of Munster.

"I’d watched Cameron play for the CQ Capras and he was a cut above in a basic side but I knew how good he could be if he played in a really good side,” Hansen said.

"Cameron always had that explosive power for his size and a lot of footy smarts.

"He was playing for a Broncos feeder team but the bottom line is that he wasn’t signed to anyone so I rang my mate Paul Bunn after he'd gone to Melbourne and I said 'Bunny, there’s the kid up here you should sign because if you don’t someone else will'.

"They came up and signed him and the rest is history."

The Storm haven’t forgotten Hansen’s tip and each year they express their gratitude.

"Every year Bunny sends me a box full of Storm gear with caps, carry bags, tracksuits and shorts as a thank you," Hansen said.

"Cameron actually used to play for Emmaus College up here and I had coached against him in a grand final.

"We were in the sheds beforehand and the boys were talking about who we had to target and I said to them 'you’ve got it all wrong.

"The main man is the skinny number one'. I told them Munster was going to cause us the most trouble, and he did."

The 25-year-old is still causing trouble to opposition sides and since his debut in 2014 for Melbourne, Munster has won the 2017 title and represented the Maroons and Kangaroos.

Melbourne's general manager of football Frank Ponissi was not surprised Munster returned early from a knee injury to star in the 42-6 win over the Titans last week.

"Cameron came back in fantastic condition from the lockdown. We were really impressed," Ponissi said.

"When we had the six-week lockdown he moved up to his girlfriend’s place up here on the Sunshine Coast and came back in as good a nick as I have seen him.

"Where we are staying at Twin Waters [resort] there is a training ground and you could throw a rock from where we are staying to his girlfriend’s place.

"The general manager at Twin Waters tells me Munster was training most days on their oval during the lockdown.

"He has taken a real step forward with his leadership after he avoided that when he first came in.

"He has really accepted it this season and is relishing it, albeit as an emerging leader at the moment but showing all the signs that he is going to be a super leader."