Melbourne flies into a storm
MELBOURNE Storm coach Craig Bellamy is warning his players they will be in enemy territory as they finalise preparations for Sunday’s NRL Grand Final against Cronulla.
Following an open training session in front of fans, the Storm flew to Sydney where Bellamy is expecting the attention, and hostility, to ramp up.
Overseeing his sixth grand final in his 14 Storm seasons, he described criticism of captain Cameron Smith for alleged dirty play in the preliminary final win over Canberra as “predictable” and expected more to come. “It doesn’t matter who you play up there, if it’s a Sydney team you’re going to cop it,” he said.
The coach was unhappy about promotional demands on his team, including an appearance at the Sydney Opera House.
But Bellamy said he had spoken to his young players and told them to embrace the week and also try to keep to their routines.
He said he hoped they would listen to their leaders, Smith, who has played in five grand finals and Cooper Cronk, who will run out for his sixth. “We’ve got two of the most experienced guys in the competition at big games, and another three or four who have played in grand finals as well and hopefully it will rub off on them,” Bellamy said.
The Storm defeated the Sharks 26-6 in the final round battle to claim the NRL minor premiership but Bellamy said the scoreline flattered his team and says the ANZ Stadium decider would be much tighter.
“I said after the game that the Sharks had won 15 in a row during the season and you’re a real quality team to do that,” he said.
He did, however, rate the performance and felt they were heading into the grand final with momentum.