Oct 1st, 2018

Oct 1st, 2018

Cameron Munster has apologised for kicking the head of Sydney Roosters centre Joseph Manu late in the NRL grand final, and insists he's not a dirty player.

Munster was breathing a sigh of relief on Monday when he was charged with contrary conduct rather than kicking or striking, leaving him free to claim the Kangaroos No.6 jersey for Tests against the Kiwis and Tonga this month.

His charge attracted just a $1400 fine and no weeks on the sideline - Munster would have faced a ban had he been found guilty of the higher-level offences.

The Melbourne five-eighth created unwanted history at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night, sin-binned twice - once for a professional foul in the first half and then for lashing out at Manu's head with his boot in the 78th minute.

"There was no malice in it, I am very sorry for what happened," Munster said.

"I am not usually not that type of player I think (it was) the pressure of playing in a grand final.

"It's not something I usually do and I apologised to Manu.

I didn't really make a lot of contact. I wasn't trying to kick him hard, it was just a brain explosion and I am very regretful at the moment."

The incident capped off an unhappy night for Munster, who was arguably been Melbourne's best player this year heading into their 21-6 defeat to the minor premiers.

"I don't want to be known as that sort of player. I am very sorry," he said.

"I was just really frustrated with the way we were playing. We couldn't complete, we couldn't kick the ball, we couldn't get the ball out of our own end."

The 24-year-old was named in the Kangaroos' 19-man squad for the internationals in New Zealand, while Clive Churchill medallist Luke Keary was only named as cover in case Munster faced a more serious charge.

Munster is expected to start at five-eighth for Australia as part of a generational change, following the retirements of long-term halves Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk.

Michael Morgan was unavailable with a season-ending bicep injury, while James Maloney is out due to a neck injury.

©AAP2018