Craig Bellamy blasts team, Melbourne Storm vs. Canterbury Bulldogs, Round 2, Press Conference
Forward coach Craig Bellamy has blasted his team’s weak areas as embarrassing and a mile away in their shocking 26-12 loss to the Bulldogs.
The Storm were 26-0 down and despite a late comeback, Bellamy was disappointed with his side’s lack of energy for most of the night.
“Our lack of effort was really bad,” Bellamy said.
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“That’s something we’re proud of here, but at the start of the game they were a lot more enthusiastic than we were. They ran harder. They tackled harder. They did everything better than us.
“We were a mile away with some of our operations, and I mean a mile away.
“I certainly didn’t see that coming. Our performance areas were really good last week but today was really disappointing.”
Bellamy refused to use the club’s worst injury crisis as an excuse for the convincing defeat.
“Of course we want to have all of our players available, but at the end of the day we just want all of our players to get on the field and do their best,” Bellamy said.
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“We were a long way off our best today and if we lack some skill, some finesse or some speed or some size then we’ll take that, but we just didn’t have the effort.
“At the end of the day you sometimes don’t win in situations like this, but we should have been much better than tonight.
“I just can’t believe we were like that for 60 minutes and then showed some energy for 20 minutes but it’s a bit late when you’re 26-0.
“In this competition you’re not going to catch anyone if you’re 26-0 and 20 to go, so that’s the disappointing part.”
Bellamy lamented that his team could be so far apart in the powerhouses that they continued to build on their brave Round 1 win over the Eels.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Bellamy said.
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“I thought we had a good week of training after last week and look at the areas of exertion compared to last week, this week it was chalk and cheese.
“It’s black and white. They were so far apart. We had a few changes from this week to last week but that’s no excuse.
“I just want us to be strong, especially in our power areas, especially when we’re going through a tough run through injury.
“That doesn’t stop anyone. They all know where they can get involved and where it is important for our team and what their strengths are, what they are good at.
“I didn’t see that today.”
Bellamy was pressured if it was the worst defensive performance he could recall from a storming side in recent memory.
“If you compare it to what the Bulldogs did,” Bellamy said.
“We were 180 degrees off the way they defended and our defense last week was good.
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“We lost control of a lot of sets very early in the tackle count tonight.
“Once they start gaining momentum it’s hard to stop, but we got what we deserved. With all due respect, it could have been 40-0 when it was 26-0.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us and need to adjust our mindset.”
Bellamy didn’t expect Cameron Munster or Xavier Coates to return next week but stressed it wouldn’t matter if they dished up the same lack of effort they showed against the Bulldogs.
“I don’t think we’ll see later in the week,” Bellamy said.
“But at the end of the day it won’t make a difference unless we show a bit of pride in our football.
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“And show a bit of pride in what we’re about as a footy team or what we’re supposed to be about as a footy team, and also a bit of pride here at home.”
Bellamy urged the Storm players to take their chances and not rely on their teammates to cover for them.
“It is what it is and I don’t want to make a big deal out of it because at the end of the day if someone misses out, someone else gets a chance,” Bellamy said.
“We just want the guys that come in to take their chance. Don’t sit back and hope the other guys will do their job for you.
“But tonight it was all over the field. It wasn’t just our young guys, or our middle-aged guys, or our most experienced guys. They all were.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2023-craig-bellamy-blasts-team-melbourne-storm-vs-canterbury-bulldogs-round-2-press-conference/news-story/b940a4ff04a8c9dfe09b9efd3ebba792 Craig Bellamy blasts team, Melbourne Storm vs. Canterbury Bulldogs, Round 2, Press Conference
