Melbourne's Cameron Munster is ready to renew bitter hostilities with Penrith enforcer Liam Martin, revealing the pair didn't get along as Kangaroos teammates.
Sunday's NRL grand final at Accor Stadium will be latest chapter in a spicy ongoing battle between the pair, who have clashed repeatedly in the State of Origin arena.
In game one of the 2021 series the Queensland playmaker was fined after kicking a prone Martin in the stomach, while last year the NSW second-rower said he planned to "test out" Munster's fractured ribs.
Before the 2021 preliminary final between the rival clubs Martin said he had put a target on the Storm star.
Martin told AAP he intended to single out Munster again in Sunday's premiership decider and at least goad him into conceding a couple of easy penalties.
Munster has grand final form, sin-binned twice in the 2018 loss to the Sydney Roosters.
"I'm going to have to," said Martin, who has been a key cog in Penrith's three successive titles.
"He's such a quality player and I love coming up against him in the battles that we have so this will be no different."
The Storm No.6 admitted that Martin had previously gotten under his skin and he would be ready for more niggle.
He said the pair had history off the field as well as on.
"It's funny, looking back on it, we probably didn't like each other in Aussie camps  although we get along pretty well at the moment," Munster said on Monday before the Storm's open training session.
"I'm sure that will be a little bit different on Sunday so I'm looking forward to the battle.
"We've always had a great rivalry and wanted to be competitive and get one over each other - he’ll want to take my head off and vice versa.
"He's a quality player, very strong and very aggressive ... I know he's coming so I'm just going to go out there and play the footy that I can play.
"He's tried to get under my skin and it worked a few times so I've got to go out there and not get frazzled."Â
As they are this season, Melbourne were the minor premiers going into the 2021 preliminary final but were outplayed 10-6 by Penrith, who then went on to beat South Sydney in the first of three straight titles.
"We were playing really good footy that year and played the worst game in the biggest game but they were just the better team on the night," Munster said.
"It's one of those years that you always look back on, the year that got away."
Their most recent grand final meeting was in 2020, won 26-20 by the Storm, which was their last title.
Martin believes it set the fires burning for the Panthers' premiership run.
"I think it did," the 27-year-old said.
"If you talk to anyone who loses a GF it has a pretty big toll on you and you go away and get even hungrier so it's driven us, when it first happened."
