Their reward for a strong NRL regular season is a second crack in the finals, but Melbourne players across the board admit it will count for nothing if they don’t get out of the gates better.
The Storm went down 20-10 to South Sydney in Friday night’s qualifying final, the reigning premiers now forced to take the long route to the grand final starting with next Saturday’s home semi-final against the winner of Sunday’s Canterbury-Newcastle elimination game.
Despite a nervous start by the Bunnies in which they coughed up the ball and conceded a penalty inside the opening three minutes, it was Melbourne who found themselves behind on the scoreboard.
Down 14-0 at the break, they made a game of it in the second half, but left themselves too much work to do – somewhat of a common tune for the men in purple.
“It’s frustrating … I can’t remember the last time we scored first,” Storm skipper Cameron Smith said.
“It wouldn’t be many times in the last dozen matches that we’ve played.
“To get on that tryline (having conceded a try) after the first ten minutes and talk to the boys, it’s just the same old thing.”
Smith said it was line in the sand moment heading into next week’s sudden death match.
“Especially in the semi-finals, we can’t give teams cheap tries and that’s what we did at the start of the game,” back-rower Ryan Hoffman said.
“We put ourselves behind the eight ball and when you’re coming up against teams like South Sydney, they take their opportunities.”
Asked how much the defeat had set the team back, Hoffman said:
“Certainly (the hunger is still there), all the hard work we did at the start of the year has given us two bites at the cherry, but that’s gone now, it’s sudden death.
“We haven’t lost confidence in ourselves, we haven’t lost confidence in our ability.
“We know we can do something special, it’s up to us to do it now.”
Despite their struggles at the start, the Storm put themselves in a position to win the game only for the video referee to deny Billy Slater his second try midway through the second half which could have left Melbourne trailing by only two points.
That was little solace for Smith however.
“When you are playing quality sides like the Rabbitohs, it doesn’t really matter how good you finish,” Smith said.
“It’s how good you start and we started poorly – that’s what cost us the game.”
Zac Zavos
Editor
Noted Felix. Thanks for your feedback.
Rick Karaitiana
Guest
Having got that off my chest, for the rest of the finals Take No Prisoners. for the Storm to win the Grand Final you will be doing Victoria, and Queensland a big favor.
Rick Karaitiana
Guest
Refereeing decisions crucified the Storm, the last Slater try that was disallowed, stopped their momentum, they where starting to come into the game, and would have been hard to stop. The Storm were not meant to win that game, I was so angry I just turned the TV off, I knew where it was heading, a Bunnies - Roosters Grand Final with refereeing decisions like that no wonder everyone is going to Rugby Union, and Sydney have a nerve to talk about Salary Cheats.
I'mastormtrooper2
Guest
I'm sure the Melbourne Storm won't go into next weeks game thinking that they are a shoe in ... Roar didn't follow the Bulldogs V Knights game ??? Well, Knights won and won well ... The Storm would have been watching the game and will be spending from here to Saturday working on a game plan, not worrying about what the odds are or aren't ... what we all can be sure of, is that there will be a game, a good one, and there will be a winner ... BUT, it won't end there ... GO THE STORM - BATTLE BORN !!!
Dave
Guest
Horrible OH & S issues here at the ROAR. I agree Felix, I haven't got much else to do today either.
bully
Guest
Get back to work
Felix
Guest
Hey Mods and Editors, Please clean this site of the lost at e minor advertising. I appreciate it's your other business but 'frozen bodies on Everest' is bloody sick, I come here for sports updates not to look at inanimate objects looking like genitals. The adult nature of a lot of the advertising doesn't make this a work safe site either. Clean it up.