Melbourne will go into Saturday’s blockbuster clash with Penrith on top of the NRL ladder, but they’ll be without injured duo Ryan Papenhuyzen and Reimis Smith.
Both backs were injured in the Storm’s crushing 42-6 win against St George Illawarra on Sunday and each will spend time on the sideline after their side moved to 8-1 for the season, the same win-loss record as second-placed defending champions Penrith.
Papenhuyzen scored two tries before exiting the AAMI Park field early in the second half, injuring his hamstring bursting onto a Nick Meaney kick and planting the ball down for his second.
The superstar fullback is expected to miss around two weeks, with the Storm confirming it was a lower-grade tear.
He’d also tweaked his knee in the first half, and Storm coach Craig Bellamy admitted taking him off before the second injury had crossed his mind.
“If I’d known what I know now, I definitely would have taken him off, we knew he wasn’t gonna be involved like he is with the ball, but we were only 12 points up, (we thought he could) just sort our defence,” he told reporters.
“I’m not quite sure, with that knee, even if he hadn’t got the hamstring whether he’d be playing the next couple of weeks anyway.
“So he’s got a couple of injuries to deal with, so we have to find ourselves a fullback for the next couple of weeks.”
That fill-in fullback won’t be Smith, who’s set for 10 to 12 weeks out after tearing his pectoral muscle in the opening stages.
The injuries didn’t stop the Storm producing another dominant performance, they have outscored their last three opponents by a combined 144 points after 70-10 and 50-2 floggings of the Warriors and Newcastle in their previous two outings.
Bellamy creditted his side’s fight despite having to call upon their backups for much of the contest.
“I don’t think we played our best the whole 80 minutes …. but they really dug in,” he said.
“Our defensive performance was as good as it’s been all year, so for me that that’s a really good sign.
“When you are doing it tough and you get a couple of injuries, how you apply yourself to defence, if you do that pretty well that’s a really good sign.”
It was the 16th consecutive time the Storm have beaten the Dragons in Melbourne, marking milestones for Kenny Bromwich (200th game) and Nelson Asofa-Solomona (150th) with victory.
Asofa-Solomona, who impressed throughout with 77 post-contact metres thanks to some brutal runs, found a try on 67 minutes and was one of 11 Storm players to run for more than 100m.
The Dragons dug in early but couldn’t score points, with Jack De Belin’s consolation try coming far too late.
The first half was a decent game of footy … the second half, obviously they just got on a roll and we weren’t good enough defensively,” Dragons coach Anthony Griffin said.
“If we could have got to 12-6 at any stage, it wasn’t a matter of getting it quickly, we could have just kept a cycle going on there, but we didn’t earn the right to defensively.
“They’re a really good side and scored some freakish tries, but that’s what they do if you let them get down on your end too much.”
JennyFromPenny
Guest
But remember we had Burton in the halves last Origin and he's no longer our halves problem.
Phil
Roar Rookie
Meaney should go well at FB as that's his real position. He'll fill in like Nicho Hynes did last year, a Mr Fixit type of player. Warbrick and Howarth should come into it sowewhere after the wraps on them.
mushi
Roar Guru
Nah Bellamy does that so when he recruits he can say we'll help you play origin, which is worth the gap in their offer to the tigers offer.
mushi
Roar Guru
There are a lot of competitions that would sever an appendage to have the origin problem. Most comps have large midseason falls in attention.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Oh the cream always rises to the top, i'm ok with that. But when we look back at the ladder and the top couple of teams should probably be 4 points ahead of everyone else and 7th and 8th should be decided two or three weeks before the final round, it distorts everything to make it seem like the competition is closer than it actually is.
Cam
Roar Rookie
I'd like to see Warbrick and Howarth get a shot. Also really keen to see who the Sharks go with at fullback. I think Kade Dykes or Lachy Miller can light it up if given a chance.
KenW
Roar Rookie
Not sure it's a failing. It's just a factor. Like the weather, travel, turn-arounds, injuries. If we had middle of the road teams with no Origin reps winning the comp year after year because Origin was killing the rep-heavy teams, then it would be a failing.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Don't worry. The team that provides the most Origin players usually plays in the GF. It brings the top teams back briefly and then in the big games the Origin players stand out. It's why Bellemey pushes his players for Origin selection. He knows it makes them better players.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
After just 9 games he is 40 points clear of the next player (Val Holmes) on the leading points scorers chart. I hope he doesn't miss to long
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
The fact that SOO is seen as an opportunity to bring the best teams back to the pack is a failing of the game isn't it?
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Storm v Panthers- one will be a loser,then gap back to third will diminish.Don’t think Storm can play any better but second tier teams can get better during the season.Don’t forget SOO will have an impact .particularly with Injuries.
Larry1950
Guest
Interesting to see if the Storm give Will Warbrick a crack on the wing with Meaney going to fullback. I’ve watched those Hostplus games & he’s a weapon that wouldn’t look out of place. Jack Howard’s needs a bit more work on his defence but understandable as he’s 19. Bit disappointing for Magic round ticket holders.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Hi no one. What are those numbers saying?
JennyFromPenny
Guest
If anything, kinda disappointed both are out for next week. Was looking forward to seeing both teams with their best available playing.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
On my numbers the gap between 1st and 3rd is greater then the gap between 6th and 16th
Justin
Guest
If Papenhuyzen is back next week . They’d have to be using some illegal wonder drug. Bung knee & a pulled hamstring. Reimis Smith 10-12 weeks. Sometimes that injury is the full season.
Phil
Roar Rookie
I hope Paps is not out for long. He's been one of the stars of the comp, an absolute pleasure to watch. On form he is equal to the best FBs running around.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
The gap between the contenders and everyone else is enormous. And the gap between the 15th placed team and my knights is just as big. Sigh.