Munster cleared but Croft a chance
BRODIE Croft will have just one chance to push his finals hopes at Melbourne after star five-eighth Cameron Munster was cleared of a serious shoulder injury.
Still unsure on who will partner Munster in this month’s finals, the Storm will likely rest the Queensland pivot from its last-round clash with North Queensland.
But after Munster left the field early in Saturday night’s win over Manly, scans showed he had only irritated his shoulder and neck, and suffered no serious damage.
It means Croft will partner Jahrome Hughes in the halves against the Cowboys, just a fortnight after being dropped by Bellamy shortly before the finals. Bellamy had been keen to explore the combination of moving Jahrome Hughes to halfback and Ryan Papenhuyzen at fullback before the finals.
That move appeared to work on Saturday night, as the Storm dominated field position and terrorised Manly on the left to finish with six tries to one. Bellamy though remains noncommittal on what direction he will head for the finals.
“We liked most of what we saw (against Manly). But we’ll go back and have a look,” Bellamy said. “We had a lot go our way. We had a lot of line drop outs and the Sea Eagles made a fair few errors. Just looking back we will see what we’ve got.
“It was a really tough call for me to leave Brodie out. But we just thought with that top two sewed up we had room for experimenting. It might be another chance for Brodie to no doubt stake his claim.”
Croft also missed games at the end of last year through injury, before reclaiming his spot for the finals.
There is a school of thought that his defence is a concern. The Storm have leaked almost 30 tries down his right edge this year.
Hughes was solid there on Saturday night, making 17 tackles and missing two as the Storm conceded just one try before half-time.
The performance of Papenhuyzen at fullback could also figure into Bellamy’s decision, given Hughes’ move to halfback has allowed the rookie to start at No.1. Papenhuyzen was one of the Storm’s best on Saturday night.