Melbourne mentor Craig Bellamy produces coaching masterclasses most years.
No matter the playing departures from the club, injuries or the bit-part players who step in and perform far better than they did at their previous clubs, the men in purple turn up year on year thanks to the coach’s ability to build an effective spine and support it.
Six wins from their past eight games has the Storm rolling confidently towards the finals for the umpteenth time. It will be a 13th post-season run in succession since the salary cap sanctions handed them the wooden spoon of 2010.
Bellamy was eight years into his tenure in the southern capital by that stage and the utter disgrace the Storm brought to the game collectively through their salary cap sins had some questioning the talent of the man at the helm.
He seemed to be a great coach, but had the cheating made him look a whole lot better than what he actually was?
Ever since, and after a defiant Bellamy and the squad marched as one away from the cameras after playing victim in an attempt to deflect guilt, the club has subsequently responded with nothing but consistency and sheer excellence, achieved despite the loss of some of the greatest players of the modern era.
Never before in rugby league has there been a team that encapsulated the ‘one man out, one man in’ mantra better than the Melbourne Storm.
Take out names like Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Josh Addo-Carr, Dale Finucane, Brandon Smith and Greg Inglis along the journey and it would be easy to suggest that an NRL club might struggle after their departure, at least in the short term.
Cooper Cronk whilst a member of the Storm spine. (Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)
Mind you, very few clubs have ever possessed the impressive roster assembled at the Storm during their most dominant periods. Blatant cheating of the salary cap will produce that.
However, now cap compliant and despite high turnover of his best players across the last five seasons, Bellamy continues to keep his team in the hunt year after year. They are looking like they will coast into yet another top four finish to underline their status as the most consistent club of the modern era.
This time around it is the brilliant Cameron Munster, hooker Harry Grant and developing half Jahrome Hughes guiding the Storm through the representative season and into a tidy third spot heading into the final straight.
Those three form the nucleus of a spine that would only be strengthened with the inclusion of the long-term injured fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen. Yet in true Bellamy style, even when faced with that significant loss, he simply finds another way.
Nick Meaney never looked anything above average at the Bulldogs and Knights but now is blossoming as a temporary solution to Papenhuyzen’s absence at the back. Another Bulldogs reject (no club jettisons talent as wastefully as Canterbury) Reimis Smith occupies a centre position and is maturing into the player many though he would become after dominating in the lower grades.
Kiwi winger Will Warbrick is a real find and the genius of Bellamy’s ability to get the best out of less influential players, within an overall structure designed to allow his spine to dominate, is impressive.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona in action against the Eels. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The same can be seen in the forward group. Big man Nelson Asofa-Solomona always has a target on his back, yet it is the work of quiet achievers like Josh King and Tui Kamikamica that take the heat off the representative player.
Many a year passes with pre-season pundits thinking that the Storm will not quite be the force they have traditionally been and much was made of that in the lead-up to 2023.
Watching the Storm put the Sharks to the sword last month, it was easy to be convinced that after a moderate start to the season, Bellamy has his team tapered for the finals yet again. They are far from perfect and a subsequent loss to the Panthers suggests they will need to improve further.
However, the fundamental question of why Bellamy’s spine building and recruitment of the right men to support it has not been equalled at any other club in instructive of his magnificence as an NRL coach.
As the Bulldogs, Dragons and Tigers chop and change halves, hookers, fullbacks and young pivots, looking desperately for the answer, Bellamy buys the right men, even before they have matured, and builds machine after machine.
Once again, playing Melbourne in the finals is not an attractive proposition in 2023. Few will be leaping in the air celebrating the consistency of a team most love to hate.
But respect them they will and the puppeteer pulling the strings.
Kaipa
Roar Rookie
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Kaipa
Roar Rookie
I just wanted to know why Justin Olam is not playing in this round 23.
Chris
Roar Pro
Munster and Nelson.
Redcap
Roar Guru
I get what you're saying. My take on it is that it's at least a symptom of a much healthier and more honest culture than the one which tries to hide an alternate reality in a marquee tent (was it a marquee tent - I can't remember exactly?).
Panthers
Roar Rookie
I believe that . The Storm weren’t punished too harshly. I just don’t buy the , ‘we are good boys for self reporting’ years later take on things. By any other club. Then again, clubs are overspending the cap now & get permission to do so.
Redcap
Roar Guru
I really don't know about the actual effect of peptides and whatever else was being used. On the cap, it's certainly possible they may not have been able to attract/retain one or two players - maybe even important players - but, again, they were found to be under during the relevant year. Nobody's ever accused the Storm of being under the cap during the relevant period - they very deliberately weren't.
Panthers
Roar Rookie
I guess the question is, could Cronulla have put together the side that it did for 2016. If they hadn’t been over the cap before that. ‘In February 2019, Cronulla were fined $750,000 for salary cap breaches dating back to 2013, although $500,000 of that was suspended due to the club self-reporting a discrepancy in 2017.’ Self reporting for being over the cap in 2017, when they were over the cap years before. Doesn’t really cut it. Add to that , did they win many games based on the systematic taking of performance enhancing drugs ? That is the real question!
Redcap
Roar Guru
Yes, interesting isn't it. There was a very fluffy 'we wuz wobbed' article on here just the other day, which attempted to argue that because lots of people dislike Melbourne, the punishment was disproportionate. Which is a very sneaky argument that deliberately gets the sequencing wrong.
Greg
Roar Pro
No doubt Bellamey is a great coach but it is Paul Bunn, not Bellamey, that is most responsible for list management.
Bernie
Roar Rookie
exactly DT. whatever with the Sharkies, but this new tainted revisionist rubbish about the poor ol'Storm being hard done ignores the evidence. it was deliberate and staged, so tough mammaries Storm fans.
Redcap
Roar Guru
According to the salary cap auditor, Cronulla were compliant in 2016. Do you have evidence to the contrary? From what I understand, when Cronulla did exceed the cap, they self-reported to the NRL. The Melbourne situation was just slightly different - they were repeatedly over cap through a deliberate and clandestine scheme designed (poorly) to avoid scrutiny. It was premeditated and everybody involved knew exactly what they were doing. Melbourne got off lightly, IMO.
Dionysus
Roar Rookie
Many in Melbourne would take umbrage at your description of the Salary Cap Saga. Whilst accepting that wrong was done, the punishments doled out to Melbourne were rushed and excessive certainly by recent standards. The storm played a year for no points whilst Cronulla got to keep their illegal premiership. That said, Bellamy has since proven his coaching ability beyond doubt.
Panthers
Roar Rookie
I have no doubt that Penrith since 1967, have had so many top players leave the club. That it’s hard to believe. They’ve had boards that have rivalled any clubs , as the worst ever. Phil Gould also let Mika Sivo go, to make supporters happy . In keeping Josh Mansour , near the end of his career . He kept Dean Whare when West’s wanted to buy him. I was crying out Why, Why!! Oh, I don’t forget that Phil wanted Griffin as coach , signed him without board permission & extended the contract the same way. Can forgive, for all the good things he did there. :laughing:
Phil
Roar Rookie
Melbourne have done a marvellous job over the years with player talent. So many run-of-the-mill players having gone there to see their stocks rise. I remember Brian Norrie, a journeyman who had just taken up a CC job in country football when Bellyache asked him down to Bleak City for a run. He stayed for five seasons. There have been some duds as well like George Rose and Sam Kasiano. As for Paps, it's sad to see such a wonderful, exciting player suffer that terrible injury. There must be some doubt about him ever playing again after having his patella smashed into 10 pieces. Around a year has passed and he is still not back to full training. I wish him well and hope to see him once again light up our game.
Panthers
Roar Rookie
True , plus DallyM halfback of the year once wasn’t he? It clouded the board’s minds.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
The problem about Brooks is, he every once in while plays a game, worthy of a Hall Of Famer eg that effort against the Cowboys where the Tigers gave them a hiding. That seems to be enough to date, to keep the Tigers board offering him huge money for mediocrity the rest of season.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
I recall in the Phil Gould era at Penrith, which is well before their recent premierships, he turned over the equivalent of more than 2 first grade teams worth of talent (a Roar regular even listed who they were) and Penrith had exactly nothing to show for it. That seemed to coincide with the musical chairs approach adopted by both Penrith and the Tigers around coaches, as well as the Tigers making some bad calls on which players to keep and sell. Sheer volume of good players and a stable coach finally allowed the Panthers to reap the rewards while the Tigers are (still) a work in progress. I understand that teams can't keep all their talent, but there are teams making extremely astute calls on who they retain & let go, eg the Storm and others who are poor at this. In that regard, I'm sure the Doggies are a contender right now, but in the past decade, there's been lots of others vying for that title.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
I don't think they can win it this year. Different story if Paps is playing and firing!
Panthers
Roar Rookie
I like the look of a lot of the Tigers squad. Some very good forwards & backs there now & coming through. Just the halves! It’s been the halves for what seems like forever. Brooks as an example, hasn’t been the answer forever.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
The key word is wastefully. Clubs literally cannot keep all of their prospects. Penrith retained a side good enough to win consecutive premierships, while the Tigers have been outbid for much of their talent (albeit having also made multiple mistakes). Of late, Canterbury have let a lot of prospective stars go for cheap and then spent big money on replacements of debatable quality.