After a short holiday, Bellamy returned to work on Monday to lead his first pre-season training session.

And he expected to find a team bearing scars from a second grand final defeat in three years - inflicted in crushing style by Manly.

Several Melbourne players then went on to suffer the indignity of Australia’s shock World Cup defeat by New Zealand, with Bellamy now facing a big task to mentally, as well as physically, ready his players.

“It is disappointing to lose a grand final then lose a World Cup final but … that’s life and we just need to get on with what we need to do this year,” Bellamy said.

“It was tough losing the grand final but how we lost it makes it even tougher for us.

“There’ll certainly be some scars. It’s something that you don’t forget about too quickly.

“I certainly haven’t and I’m sure the players are the same.

“Hopefully it’ll make us a little bit more determined to play well.”

Bellamy must also plug sizeable gaps left by the departures of superstar back Israel Folau to Brisbane, tough backrower Michael Crocker to England and foundation player Matt Geyer to retirement.

The Storm are masters at unearthing gems when left with a pile of rubble - Cooper Cronk replacing Matt Orford at halfback the best example under Bellamy’s reign.

But Bellamy admitted teenage giant Folau loomed as near-irreplaceable and subtle tweaks to their game plan may be needed to remain a force in 2009.

“I don’t know whether you can actually replace a guy like Israel - you’re not going to get a guy as big as him that can leap like him and at 19 years of age, he’s just one of a kind,” Bellamy said.

“We’ve just got to find someone else who’ll fit in that position but play to their strengths.

“We’ve got a bigger changeover of player personnel this year than any time I’ve been here.

“Our backbone’s still there, our hooker and halfback and fullback, but the guys going around them are going to be a fair bit different.

“We’ll probably have to change the way we play a little bit again.”

The Storm have already locked in three 2009 pre-season matches, starting with a re-match with finals conquerors New Zealand Warriors in Hamilton, New Zealand, on February 12.

They will also play Newcastle at Melbourne’s Princes Park on February 21, and round off their preparation with a match against Brisbane in Caloundra on February 28.

Stuart’s manager John Fordham issued a statement on Friday saying the coach sent separate apologies on Thursday to World Cup final referee Ashley Klein and British referees official Stuart Cummings for his comments in a Brisbane hotel on Sunday.

Describing his conduct as “inappropriate and offensive”, Stuart said that the emotion that set in following Australia’s 34-20 upset loss to New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium last Saturday night had not subsided by the next morning.

“Still on my mind were the disappointed faces of my players who had worked so hard during the tournament,” said Stuart in the statement.

Stuart is the subject of a Rugby League International Federation investigation after he allegedly called Klein a “f…ing cheat” and “the c… who cost us the World Cup” when he saw the officials in a hotel foyer.
Stuart said losing control in the manner he did was “something for which I now deeply regret”.

“It’s a hard thing for me to admit, but I was certainly not in control of my emotions at the time and acted irresponsibly and irrationally,” wrote Stuart in his apology, adding “but that’s not an excuse for my behaviour”.

The statement said Stuart was trying to contact Klein and Cummings to personally convey his apology.

Stuart will return to Sydney from leave early next week to respond to alleged breaches of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup’s Code of Conduct.

The matter is being independently investigated for the RLIF by Robert Weber SC.

Australia were accused of snubbing the ceremony following their shock 34-20 loss to New Zealand last Saturday in Brisbane when they declined to receive their medals on the dais despite the presentation being scheduled by organisers.

“We just don’t do it,” Carr told AAP on Wednesday.

“One of the things about getting beat is that you’ve got to stay out there and respect the winners.

“The winners are entitled to receive the accolades, to receive the presentation.

“If we do give something to losers we’ve always given it in the dressing room.

“It’s just what we’ve always done.

“It’s no good parading them as the losers, because that’s what it is, it’s a loser’s medal.”

Carr, though, was at pains to point out the decision was not made by the devastated players or coaching staff.

“Those players didn’t know that they had to get on the dais, they didn’t know that was in the running sheet, they don’t know any of that,” Carr said.

“I can’t see why everyone that I talk to is trying to hang the players for something they knew nothing about.”

“(Captain) Darren (Lockyer) certainly got up so there was no snub. The boys were out on the field where they would normally be.”

Carr released a statement earlier on Wednesday saying a runners-up presentation would not have been “in keeping with traditional post-Test presentations … regardless of who had won”.

But the chief executive admitted to making the decision as it became clear Australia were about to become the victims of one of the great sporting boilovers.

“It was clearly towards the end of the match,” he said.

“I was down on the sideline and they were talking about the losers’ presentation and I said, `Darren will say something and the players will be out there respecting the winner.

“We don’t present losers in grand finals, we don’t present losers at Origin, we don’t present losers at anything on the dais, it’s just never done.”

Carr said he had not spotted the presentation on the final’s running sheet.

“I’m not running the World Cup, the World Cup is,” he said.

He denied his action could contribute to a “sore losers” tag for Australia, whose coach Ricky Stuart is already under fire for allegedly abusing referee Ashley Klein at the team hotel.

“It’s not perceived as sour grapes,” Carr said.

“I was more than gracious with everyone, I couldn’t have thanked any more people from New Zealand.”

Meanwhile, Carr has also attempted to hose down the controversy over the naming of Lockyer as the final’s man of the match.

“The man of the match selectors were given an opportunity to re-cast their votes in the closing stages of the match but did not wish to do so,” Carr’s statement said.

Media reports had suggested the panel was refused the chance to backtrack on a decision made 10 minutes before fulltime.

When Steve Roach, the assistant coach of the NSW State of Origin side, called referee Tony Archer “a fucking cheat” after the third match last year, it was suggested he should stand down. Ricky Stuart’s series of abusive outbursts, and his “conspiracy” rants following the defeat of his Kangaroos side in the World Cup final, are far more unacceptable than any of the Roach nonsense.

If Stuart does not resign immediately, he should be sacked as the Kangaroos coach.

A simple comparison with the Stuart wild-eyed and mad-tongued behaviour after the Kangaroos lost an un-losable final can be drawn with the dignity shown by the All Blacks coach Graham Henry after New Zealand were booted out of the 2007 RWC in a controversial loss to France.

The difference is stark.

Henry copped it sweet, and he has been rewarded with an international sports award for showing grace under pressure, Hemingway’s definition of style.

Stuart has embarrassed himself, rugby league, the World Cup tournament. and the Kangaroos.

He has to go.

Aside from his banshee behaviour, there are real concerns that Stuart is not up to coaching the national side from a coaching perspective.

Phil Gould has an interesting article in the SMH about Stuart’s coaching of the Kangaroos in the final which is titled: ‘Elementary, really. How Kiwis kept it simple to bust the Roos’.

Gould and Stuart are hardly mates, although they once were.

They now write columns for rival newspapers. Stuart’s columns are given the endorsement ‘Rugby league’s best thinker.’

This is a direct attack on the thoughtful but often anti-News Ltd pieces crafted by Gould. Gould has the title, The Analyst, above his by-line.

So there is some personal history and animosity involved whenever the two engage in an argument.

Despite this, Gould has made a convincing case against Stuart having the coaching nous to be in charge of the Kangaroos.

Gould makes the point (which I made in my analysis of the World Cup final) that the tactics and manner of the Kiwis in the final had all the hallmarks of the Wayne Bennett winning approach to one-off big matches.

The Kiwis had an effective but simple game plan which they stuck to patiently, even though early on it looked as if they were going to be over-run.

The Kangaroos, according to Gould, were poorly selected, with a lack of big players to support Petero Civoniceva.

Losing Steve Price, in retrospect, was a huge blow to the Kangaroos. But Stuart did not really appreciate this loss and failed to make an adequate replacement for the big, workaholic prop.

The Kiwis, according to Gould, worked out by half time that they could burst the soft middle of the Kangaroos and exploited the lack of big men there.

Then Gould touches on Stuart’s prickly personality, the pent-up fury he has which seems to explode as he prowls the sidelines like s caged tiger. Gould concedes that “there’s no doubt he can coach.”

But this concession reads in context more like a cover-up to allow the killer blow: “Like in most big-match preparations conducted by Stuart, his men were wound so tight they exploded out of the barriers in the early stages, ran themselves ragged and saved little for a long run up to the home stretch.”

In other words, Stuart is just no good as a coach when it comes to preparing sides for the big matches that the Kangaroos are invariably involved in.

The best outcome for the Kangaroos would be for Bennett to come on as coach of the Kangaroos. But whether Bennett would want to come back to the Kangaroos after being effectively sacked is an unanswered question right now.

And whether the officials who got rid of Bennett - a bit like the NZRU with Robbie Deans - are big enough to admit they got it wrong is also up in the air.

What is not a issue for debate is that Ricky Stuart has to go.

The proposal for dual referees is yet to be formally accepted but NRL chief executive David Gallop said the signs were it would go ahead.

“It is something that has been debated many times and there is a strong view that we need to try it and to see if it does in fact lead to the outcomes we all want which is greater consistency and a better flowing game,” Gallop said.

“If it doesn’t add value or if it is not proving effective then we would review it and make further changes if and when necessary.”

The two referees idea would be applied to the premiership only, with one referee to oversee the play- the-ball while another would be based on the 10-metre line.

The referee on the 10-metre line would be the one with the power to rule on stoppages and penalties while his counterpart would communicate directly to him.

Referees could alternate between the roles during the match.

The idea was backed by coaches, players, media and game representatives at a conference in Sydney earlier this year and will now be taken to the NRL board on December 11.

But Gallop said the backing of many of the executives seemed to suggest acceptance of the idea was a mere formality.

“The proposal is still to be adopted by the board but it’s significant that a number of board members were here today and certainly we are looking at this as part of a significant investment in further raising the standards of on-field decisions,” he said.

CEOs also agreed with an NRL recommendation that video referees would no longer be allowed to determine penalties for stripping of the ball during tackles.

The video referee will still be allowed to notify the referee on foul play only if the matter is serious enough for the player to be placed on report.

Other items of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting were the introduction of a specific judiciary category for the controversial grapple tackle and wrestling and a minor amendment to prevent time wasting around scrums.

Under existing guidelines the referee will blow time off when one side forms a scrum but he will signal time on the moment those players disengage to change roles with other players.

The dust is settling with the Kiwis still not believing that they are the World Champions after executing one of the great upsets of the modern era. Equally, it appears that many Australians are in the same state of disbelief.

But private conspiracy theories by Ricky Stuart aside, the Kangaroo’s and the powerful administrators of the ARU and the RLIF need to build on the tournament’s momentum.

Certain responsibilities will need to be achieved by the nations for the impetus to continue.

This Cup recorded a $5 million dollar profit, and created a wave of optimism throughout the Pacific Nations and Papua New Guinea.

However, much has been pledged previously for International rugby league, with RLIF chairman Colin Love and Richard Lewis giving a poor synopsis of the event.

They have compared this World Cup to the first union tournament in 1987, pointing to the humble origins of what was then an amateur game and how 21 years on, it is the third largest sporting event on the planet.

They seem to have forgotten that the first league World Cup was played 54 years ago, and that this was the thirteenth edition of the event.

Mammoth ideals and failed promises are supposed to have deliver us a flourishing international calendar – but the 2008 World Cup showed us that precious little depth has been developed.

The talent pool in the Pacific is considerable, but there is the classic battle of club versus country, with NRL clubs unwilling to release players unless it is for a Kangaroo jersey – and equally abhorrent to paying players a bonus unless they turn out for Australia or New Zealand.

Likewise, the farce over “taking back” players such as Anthony Tupou was a disgrace, when Australia has a plethora of playing talent.

In New Zealand, this win will do much to lift rugby league from the dominant black shadow of the nation’s glamour team, the All Blacks. The Warriors unexpected success in the NRL this season will boost interest and the Auckland based franchise should be pumping capital into their marketing campaigns now to capitalise on both theirs and the Kiwis successes.

Furthermore, if ever there was a time to fast track a second club into New Zealand, it would be now.

The French will continue to grow, with their league clubs having greater success spearheaded by the Catalan Dragons, and this in turn will booth their development.

But the game in the North depends much on England.

The severe post mortems are already being released, the foremost being that local talent is not being nurtured as foreign players are seen as a better investment by the Super League clubs.

The rugby league world needs England to be strong. More time should be spent on the “genetic makeup” of teams. Fifteen members of England’s 24 man squad were from St Helens and Leeds, sworn enemies, of which hatred was obvious on and off the field at the World Cup.

While England coach Tony Smith may have lost his Midas touch at this World Cup, there is enough money and quality in Super League that British teams should be able to lead a new era for Northern rugby league.

Just look at recent results in World Club challenges.

Tournaments breed competition: players who play against the best develop competitiveness.

This World Cup has got the proverbial ball rolling, now the RLIF needs to kick it hard.

Seeking to lift the one trophy he hasn’t held aloft as skipper, Lockyer was devastated after the match knowing he wouldn’t be around to contest the next tournament in 2013.

“The thought went through my mind after the game - with ten minutes to go I was thinking this was my only chance, unfortunately it wasn’t to be,” Lockyer said after the Kiwis romped home 34-20.

“We put in a lot of hard work but unfortunately we didn’t win the tournament.”
Lockyer was named man of the match, little consolation for the champion five-eighth who did his best to lift his side over the line.

He scored two tries in the first half and set up Greg Inglis to pull the home side to within two points at 22-20 late in the contest.

But he was ruing a denied third try that would have put the Australians up 16-0 after 20 minutes.

“I have no doubt if I’d have scored there it would have been a whole different ball game,” Lockyer said.

“But hindsight’s a wonderful thing.”

New Zealand officials and a smattering of players will take the trophy back home on Sunday morning when they are sure to get a wonderful reception.

But any plans for an official celebration could be scuppered by the fact not all players will be heading back across the ditch.

The Australia-based NRL players are taking holidays before rejoining their clubs for pre-season training in the coming weeks.

Stuart declined the opportunity to speak on the eve of his side’s World Cup final against the Kiwis, the Kangaroos mentor instead sending assistant John Cartwright to face the throng of reporters on hand for Australia’s last training session.

It is a situation that has been prevalent throughout the tournament, Stuart’s only comments over the past fortnight coming in the mandatory post-match press conference following the semi-final win over Fiji and via his contractual deals with newspaper and radio companies.

Match-eve is the traditional forum for the captain and coach to speak to the media, Stuart’s silence flying in the face of criticisms he made of then New Zealand coach Brian McClennan when he failed to show up for a press conference in 2006.

Kearney, as he has done before every game this tournament, obliged without hostility on Friday, the rookie Test coach saying he had no idea what Stuart was playing at with his snub.

“I feel we have an obligation certainly to the game … if I can help promote it in any way and and send the message that it’s going to be a wonderful night tomorrow night then I’ve got no problem with that,” Kearney said.

“It’s a World Cup final - we feel that we’re trying to do the best we can for the game.”

Asked if he knew why a coach would shy away from talking in the lead-up to a match, Kearney tongue in cheek said:

“I’ve just spent six weeks with Wayne Bennett so I’m getting a fair idea,” the comment in reference to Bennett’s at time prickly relationship with the media.

Cartwright denied there was any malice in Stuart not talking, the Test coach instead opting to watch his players go through their warm-ups before training as his assistant answered questions.

“Just generally the day before the game, day of the game, Ricky likes to focus his attention with the team,” Cartwright said.

“That’s been the way it has been all tournament so no real reason for it.”