Signings watch: Munster 'wise' to reject extension as rivals loom

Having spent his entire 254-game NRL career wearing the purple of the Melbourne Storm, it’s hard to see Cameron Munster in any other jersey.

But with plenty of rivals circling for the services of the star five-eighth, Blake Austin believes Munster has made a wise call by rejecting the Storm’s extension offer.

Coming out of contract at the end of next season, the Victorian-based club has been keen to keep him.

But having rejected a two-year contract from the Storm which would see him earn $750,000 per season, the Queensland captain is set to test the open market come November 1, with the Broncos and Chiefs reportedly interested.

Whilst the former Penrith, Wests Tigers and Canberra five-eighth was unsure where Munster could land, he does believe he could do better on the open market, thus creating a bidding war.

“I don't know, but I do think he could command more than $750,000,” Austin told SEN’s Crunch Time NRL.

“It sounds about right at this stage to just park that figure; you'd imagine at any stage down the track he could probably turn back to the Storm and say, ‘Hey, I'll take you up on that’, I think he's earned the right at that club.

“There's the obvious one, isn't there? There's the Chiefs that could give him the same market value.”

But as Austin notes, the rejection of the extension is not an indication of any tension between the two parties.

“Not necessarily, sometimes this can be a bigger beat up,” he added.

“You see this all the time. I mean, Jacob Preston was at loggerheads with the Bulldogs, (and) the Bulldogs were coming out saying that his agent was being greedy and Jacob wants to stay for this amount of money.

“Then a week or two later, Jacob got the money that Jacob wanted.

“It may be proven that $750,000 is a good value for Cam, but I also think he'd demand a little bit more money out there, and I think he'd be wise to sort of turn down an offer of this level at this stage.”

The Storm concluded their season on Saturday night against Cronulla on a high with a 24-20 win at Ocean Protect Stadium in Sydney.

Munster managed to run for 102 metres in the match, resulting in a tackle break.