Opinion
If Craig Bellamy can get this Storm side back into the top four and into premiership contention, it will be up there with his finest achievements as a coach even if they don’t go all the way.
The Storm are rated the third favourites to win the NRL this year behind Penrith and the Roosters but that high rating is based more on their history of success rather than the state of play.
They’re by no means struggling for talent but after losing a mountain of experience in the off-season and facing a mounting injury toll heading into Round 1, the forecast is clouded … by the Storm stratospheric standards.
You could make a strong case for the Rabbitohs and Cowboys and even the Eels and Sharks being better bets to get their hands on the trophy on Grand Final night.
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It will be tough to get a true gauge on the Storm’s premiership credentials when they kick off the season against Parramatta at CommBank Stadium on Thursday night.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Both teams are legit contenders but will both be without several stars – the Eels will be without the healthy, wealthy and suspended Ryan Matterson, as well as fellow forwards Shaun Lane (broken jaw) and Nathan Brown (hamstring strain).
The Storm’s injury woes are part of the reason why Bellamy is facing a mammoth task to not only extend his Round 1 unbeaten streak – the Storm have not lost a season opener since 2001 before he took over from Mark Murray – but to also compete with the competition heavyweights.
Star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen looks like he won’t be sighted until midway through the season due to the shattered kneecap he suffered last year against Canberra.
Then there’s centre Justin Olam out with a broken arm and prop Tui Kamikamica who has a foot complaint who won’t be sighted until at least Round 5.
Veteran duo Tariq Sims and Tepai Moeroa are out for a couple more weeks with calf problems, fellow forward Tom Eisenhuth is also sidelined for Round 1 with a back issue while centre Marion Seve and winger George Jennings have been laid low by illness and knee complaints.
And to top it off young winger Dean Ieremia tore his ACL in their trial win over the Warriors and won’t play at all this season.
It got to the point where the club needed to get an exemption from the NRL to draft in four players from outside their main roster to have enough fit bodies to form a squad to face the Eels with centre Young Tonumaipea and bench forward Chris Lewis getting starts on Thursday night.
And then there’s the fact that Bellamy had to say farewell to the premiership-winning quartet of Jesse and Kenny Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi and Brandon Smith in the off-season as the Dolphins and Roosters swooped with lucrative offers.
Nick Meaney is a capable replacement for Papenhuyzen at fullback and Bellamy still has an all-star spine of Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant.
With Queensland duo Christian Welch and Xavier Coates, Olam, Kamikamica and Nelson Asofa-Solomona – when he’s at his damaging best and not dishing out cheap shots – there’s plenty of talent on the roster.
But this Melbourne line-up does not have the aura of the powerful squads of the recent past.
Cameron Smith leads the Storm’s 2020 celebrations. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Bellamy not only navigated the gradual exit of superstar club stalwarts Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith in recent years but defied predictions of a Storm drop-off to keep the team at the pointy end of the ladder.
The fact that last year’s fifth-placed finish was their worst result since 2014 tells you all you need to know about the lofty expectations for perennial success at the Victorian powerhouse.
There are five clubs – the Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra, Warriors, Knights, and Gold Coast – who haven’t finished as high as Storm’s worst result over the same timeframe.
The standout achievements in Bellamy’s career are his three premiership triumphs. (The other two grand final results were not wins due to the salary cap rorting later uncovered – the Storm finished with more points those two nights in 2007 and ‘09 but just like Ben Johnson when he crossed the finish line first at the 1988 Olympics, nothing was won).
His effort to keep the team united in 2010 when the salary cap punishments were handed down and the Storm had to play most of the season without the possibility of earning competition points stands alongside the three titles as his finest coaching display.
They received the wooden spoon but finished with a 14-10 record which would have placed them fifth overall.
Anyway, that’s ancient history now and sprinkling his magic on the 2023 roster is Bellamy’s sole focus as he shelves the annual “will he retire” debate for another few months before probably deciding he still can’t shake the coaching bug yet again.
“We’ve had a few personnel changes with a few injuries so what we thought at the start of pre-season that our 17 would be, that’s obviously changed a lot,” Bellamy told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday after the team finalised preparations before hopping on a flight to Sydney.
“We’ve just had to work hard on the combinations and hopefully, it can click a little bit tomorrow night.”
Apart from the 2010 season of salary cap sanctions, the Storm have never finished lower than sixth in Bellamy’s 20 years at the helm.
With all their injuries and stars leaving, Melbourne could be struggling to keep that record intact this season … but don’t bet on it.
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