'I'll play with one leg'.
Those are the emphatic words that would've played like music to Mal Meninga's ears, with superstar five-eighth Cameron Munster confirming he'll line up for Australia at season's end.
The Melbourne Storm half was a prominent figure as the Kangaroos claimed a World Cup victory over Samoa last November, running the show alongside Nathan Cleary, and their partnership looks set to continue next month.
From their World Cup-winning side, Meninga will already be without Latrell Mitchell (injured), Valentine Holmes (controversy) and Jack Wighton (retired) while a reshuffle in the forwards is expected.
Munster knows how valuable these rep jerseys, and that if he gives it up to a youngster this year, he may never get it back.
โI'd play with one leg to play for the Kangaroos,โ Munster told Fox Sports.
โYou can't take those jerseys lightly. If I get picked then I get picked, but if I don't then I'll hold my head up high for what I did in the season and get back to working hard.
โIf I do get the opportunity to wear an Australian jersey then I'm not going to throw it away because I could retire from representative footy in the next two or three years and be content.
โAt this stage, I won't be giving away an Australian jersey because we've got some young, quality players coming through, so if I give it away then I might not get it back.โ
Munster has carried a knee injury since the State of Origin series, and despite taking antibiotics, the knee is reportedly getting infected repeatedly, enough of a roadblock to rule the majority of stars out of a post-season tour.
Not Cameron.
โIt just keeps opening up and opening up. I'm on antibiotics but it keeps getting infected,โ he revealed.
โAnyone that knows me probably knows I have a little bit of bad blood from my genetics, but at the moment it keeps getting infected and at times it's really sore around the glands.
โI've got to make sure I get it right because it's only an injury and it's not an excuse because I need to be better.โ
Munster's season came to a screeching halt following Penrith's 38-4 preliminary carve-up, meaning the half will miss the decider, but be given bonus time to heal if he wants to don the green and gold again in 2023.
