A Historic Low for Melbourne Storm
Coach Craig Bellamy has expressed his deep embarrassment after the Melbourne Storm suffered a historic low in their Anzac Day clash against South Sydney. The Rabbitohs delivered an impressive 48-6 victory, marking their first win in Melbourne after 28 years and 21 matches. This result was not only significant for the Rabbitohs but also a major blow for the Storm, who are now facing their sixth consecutive loss this season.
This losing streak is the longest the Storm have experienced since 2002 under Mark Murray, before Bellamy took over. The defeat at AAMI Park was the worst they’ve faced at home and their largest anywhere since 2003. Bellamy, who has coached 613 NRL games and played 150 for Canberra, admitted he felt more embarrassed than ever in his football career.
“Probably the most embarrassed I’ve ever been in my footy life, to play like that tonight,” Bellamy said. “The opposition played really well, but to come up with a performance like that and a lack of effort like that on Anzac Day is embarrassing.”
Even South Sydney skipper Cameron Murray was surprised by the margin of the victory. “Yeah, probably a little bit, it’s never easy coming down here,” Murray said. “Not having won down here, it’s pretty special to break a drought like that.”
With only two wins this season, the Storm are at risk of missing the finals for the first time under Bellamy. Their challenges are compounded by the injury of superstar halfback Jahrome Hughes, who was forced off with an arm injury.
Dominance from South Sydney
Souths were almost unstoppable in the first half, surging to a 24-0 lead. Alex Johnston scored a double among his side’s five tries, while Latrell Mitchell, named Anzac Medallist, played a key role in both of the Rabbitohs’ opening tries. Mitchell’s barnstorming performance included a crucial pass to his winger for the visitors to open the scoring in the eighth minute.
Melbourne’s first-half statistics were alarming for the large crowd. They completed only 12 of 19 sets and made no line-breaks compared to Souths’ eight. The Storm also made seven errors, with mistakes by Sua Faalogo and Nick Meaney leading to possession being handed over for the Rabbitohs to score.
Bellamy gave the team a strong halftime speech before leaving the changeroom, allowing the senior players and assistant coaches to find a way out of their slump. The Storm looked to finally score in the second half, but the bunker ruled Trent Loiero had promoted the ball as he attempted to ground it over the line.
Keaon Koloamatangi and Sean Keppie received praise for their defensive efforts. Tallis Duncan added to Melbourne’s woes by spraying Cameron Munster after palming off both the Storm five-eighth and Jack Howarth as he scored his second of three tries. Campbell Graham also grabbed a double, diving across for his team’s eighth try in the 66th minute.
A Glorious Night for South Sydney
Faalogo broke the hosts’ duck three minutes later in a surprising fashion when he scooped his own short kick-off to split the defence and score a brilliant individual try. It was Melbourne’s first line-break of the night, but the visitors still had the final say with Duncan’s third four-pointer.
The only downside for the Rabbitohs was the loss of Brandon Smith, who suffered a recurrence of the calf injury that had limited him to three games this season. However, Souths felt the issue wasn’t serious.
