Munster eyes Storm captaincy

CAMERON Munster has revealed his desire to captain the Storm and says he is ready to take charge of Melbourne on and off the field if Cameron Smith announces his retirement.

With Smith entering what could be the final month of his glittering 18-year career, Munster is primed to become Melbourne’s top dog and spearhead a new era of dominance for the Storm.

“Having the ‘C’ next to my name would be a great feat,” he said ahead of Saturday night’s semi-final against the Eels at Suncorp Stadium.

“Once Smith goes then I get to hopefully run the team, fingers crossed.

“There is no doubt about it, but there are some qualities, or things, that I still need to tweak off the field. I am heading in the right direction.

“It shows the club and the coach believe in me, by having me in the leadership group, so that is a baby step there.

“Everyone needs to work on things and fingers crossed in the next couple of years I do have the ‘C’ next to my name.”

For all his natural talents, the beauty of Munster is his unvarnished humility.

“I’m trying to be a bit of a leader for the young blokes and talking to them about going down the right path.

“I went down a couple of wrong paths, just with alcohol. That is something I have been really talking to the boys about ... when we are not allowed to have a drink then it is about making sure everyone is accountable and not having a beer.

“It is about being a leader on the field as well and at training. That is about talking when I need to. If I see something (that needs addressing), then I need to say something. That is something I have really focused on the last eight months.”