COVID-19 enforced sobriety behind Munster pre-injury surge

Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster reckons the pubs being shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the secret to his career-best run of form.

Still awaiting scans on a knee injury that will put him out of the heavyweight round eight clash against the Roosters (and probably a month or so beyond that), Munster admitted it was "devastating" to miss a chance to get one back against the team that ended Melbourne's 2019 season.

The Storm will be hoping to have him back sooner than later, with the Maroons and Kangaroos playmaker in supreme form since the round three resumption.

"I guess [there's] no pubs or alcohol or partying with teammates or stuff like that so I'm probably off the piss a lot now," Munster said.

"I haven't had a beer in probably six or seven weeks. I've been knuckling down to make sure I was fit coming back from the mini pre-season we had.

"I'm 90 kilos and I haven't been that since probably 2016 so feeling really fit and lean and really sharp with my ball handling at the moment.

"I guess I'll have to take a back seat for the next couple of weeks unfortunately but it is what it is. I'm really enjoying my footy and happy with the way everything's going."

In the four games from the resumption prior to his injury-affected 40 minutes against the Warriors, Munster busted more than four tackles per game, set up three tries and ran for 115 metres per game with two line breaks.

I haven't had a beer in probably six or seven weeks

Cameron Munster on the reason behind his form

Having attracted negative headlines in the past for issues involving alcohol, Munster admitted it had been important to find a better balance.

"[Previously I] might have a drink on a Saturday and have a big one then you're pretty much chasing your tail the next couple of days when you're hungover and you're not eating decent food," he said.

"You're eating take-away to try and make yourself feel a bit better than you did on that day and I guess you kind of catch up and by the time you catch up it can be Wednesday or Thursday and you're playing that weekend.

"If you don't get your diet and your balance right you find inconsistencies in your game. I found that I've been more consistent now in games with my diet and having a balance off-field around alcohol."

The big win over the Warriors saw fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen produce the explosive sort of display that became his trademark in his breakout 2019 season and he said he had made some tweaks to his game that had extracted those results.

"I pushed myself onto an edge and probably wasn't as involved as I have been through the middle," Papenhuyzen said.

"I think we were a lot better through the middle allowing us to go to an edge, playing more confidently. We were backing our skill a lot more which is what this style of game probably needs now."

The team overall is getting better at playing to the new rules as well.

"If you look at our spine, three of us have played fullback. It's a very hands-on, running, eyes-up role and I think it will suit us. It's about finding that balance," he said.

While Munster will be a big loss against the Roosters, Papenhuyzen said the chance to try different combinations could pay dividends later in the season.

"Whoever comes in to fill his spot are not going to be a Munster, they're going to do their job the best they can do it and I think that's the exciting part," he said.

"Anyone getting experience throughout the middle of the year usually ends up well for the back of the year.

"Everyone's always keen and gets up for the Roosters games. They're playing good footy at the moment. They're the benchmark right now, everyone's chasing, everyone wants to beat them."