Cameron Munster's Queensland teammates are confident his game-day chicken pesto and an "old-school" approach will get him and his sore knee through a gruelling State of Origin series.
The Maroons' five-eighth appeared at training on Thursday with his knee strapped but was bouncing around to allay any remaining fears he would need surgery and miss the series after Melbourne's NRL premiership win on Sunday.
Storm and Queensland prop Christian Welch said Munster's new-found maturity could be traced back to his personal life and was a big reason why he'd be able to negotiate three Origin games over the next three weeks.
"We had our unofficial awards night and he got the grade three carry-on award for throwing his mouthguard and acting as if it 'could be over' (at Suncorp Stadium during the finals)," he said.
"The poor journos took the bate, but he's a tough, resilient old school footballer.
"And with a long-term partner and his routine now, he's found out what works for him."
Welch was impressed Munster had transported his girlfriend's chicken pesto from Sunshine Coast to Sydney to eat before they defeated Penrith on Sunday.
"He had a little Tupperware container on the bus, took it all the way to Sydney," Welch said.
"It takes a while for players to find routine and how they prepare and I think he's in a real sweet spot now in his career and at peace with how he prepares and who he is."
Fellow club and state teammate Felise Kaufusi said the premiership hangover had more chance of claiming Munster than the knee injury, which has seen him miss games on multiple occasions this year.
"He'll be paying $1.01 for the hangover, don't worry about his knee, he knows how to have a good time," Maroons backrower Kaufusi said.
"It's different (with an end-of-season Origin), been a massive couple of days and it's hard having to back up.
"But I'm still on cloud nine and I'll be riding this high energy for the whole camp - no doubt we'll be all guns blazing."
Australian Associated Press
