Melbourne Storm still waiting on Billy Slater, Cameron Munster for St George Illawarra Dragons clash
Melbourne Storm will wait until game day to decide if Billy Slater and Cameron Munster will play against St George Illawarra Dragons in Monday night's NRL season opener.
Slater trained well last week after undergoing rehabilitation for his reconstructed shoulder during the off-season while Munster has only been involved in parts of training after a knee injury earlier in the pre-season.
But with Slater not having played since midway through last season, the Storm want to see how he feels before naming him to face the Dragons at AAMI Park.
The Storm's next best option at fullback, Munster, could still be a late inclusion in place of Slater or in the centres after not having played since injuring his knee at the Auckland Nines.
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If both players miss out there are several candidates to fill in at fullback, including winger Young Tonumaipea.
Storm assistant coach Adam O'Brien said Slater had trained well this week but the club was being cautious.
"We won't make a call [on Slater] until Monday," he said.
"Billy has trained well this week and we are quietly confident but we will see how he pulls up."
While Munster wasn't named in the Storm's original side, O'Brien said Munster hadn't been ruled out yet but was "unlikely".
Centre Richard Kennar was originally named in the starting side but was listed as playing with reserve side Sunshine Coast Falcons on Sunday along with Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Curtis Scott and Ben Hampton making it unlikely any of them will play on Monday.
"Munster is unlikely, he has only trained in bits and pieces this week," O'Brien said.
"We have tried a number of options in that left-centre position during the trial games so we know we have guys who can fill in there."
The Storm kept several extra players in Melbourne this weekend as backups instead of sending them to play with Sunshine Coast or Brisbane Easts in the Queensland Cup on Sunday.
Storm winger Marika Koroibete will play his 50th NRL game on Monday night while former Storm back Kurt Mann is expected to make his debut with the Dragons after being named at fullback.
Mann will team with another former Storm star five-eighth, Gareth Widdop, and New Zealand star Benji Marshall.
"It's a little bit funny to see Kurt in a Dragons jersey," O'Brien said.
"He's still got those wonderful traits we appreciated ... being a diligent worker and strong for a young guy.
"He has impressed with what he has done at fullback for them and that's the type of guy he is he gives you everything and is a good pick-up."
With the NRL introducing rules to speed up play and reducing the number of interchanges, O'Brien said he was confident the Storm's fitness program would show up in how they perform against the Dragons.
The combination of the new rules and high temperatures for several earlier round one games saw teams heavily fatigued in the final minutes of their games.
"This weekend we have seen some teams not make their first change until the 20th minute or so and for some ruck players that would be tiring it would be an extra 10 minutes for some of them so it adds up," O'Brien said.
"Most of those hot games have opened up later on, but the good thing is both teams have to go through it."
The Storm host the Dragons at AAMI Park on Monday night at 7pm.
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