Key Players Considered for Return
While coach Craig Bellamy has yet to finalize the decision on whether Cameron Munster and Harry Grant will play, the State of Origin duo are expected to be back in action against the Sydney Roosters. This comes as the Melbourne Storm’s NRL season faces significant challenges.
Munster and Grant skipped the team’s training session ahead of their AAMI Park clash on Saturday night. They were given a rest after a tough match on Wednesday night where their Queensland side suffered a last-minute defeat. Trent Loiero, a forward, participated in the training session after only playing for 14 minutes in the previous game.
The Roosters also have six Origin representatives, including try-scoring hero James Tedesco and hard-working halfback Sam Walker, who are set to play. Bellamy mentioned that the decision on whether Munster and Grant will play is still pending. He said:
“Whether they play or not, I’m not quite sure yet, but we’ll just see how they pull up tomorrow. But they won’t be doing any training. They’d like to play, yeah, but whether it’s best for them or not, we’re not quite sure yet – they need to have a few more checks and then go from there.”
Munster was seen in Storm training gear and told AAP he had done a light run-through, indicating his desire to play. With Melbourne currently in 15th place with only four wins this season and facing the third-placed Roosters, the Storm can’t afford to lose two key players for the round-13 clash.
The team is already dealing with injuries, as utility Tyran Wishart is sidelined with an ankle injury. The absence of usual Origin cover players like Jonah Pezet and Bronson Garlick adds to the challenge.
Despite snapping a record seven-game losing streak, the Storm faced second-half difficulties when they were over-run by Canterbury in the last round. Bellamy admitted that the team’s faltering form has made it a “confusing” time in his long, decorated coaching career.
“We’ve already tried to tweak a few things, and there’s only so many things you can tweak,” he said. “I can’t remember the last time in my coaching career that I’ve been as confused about that – we’ve tried a few things, different things, and we just can’t seem to get that right in the second half.”
He added that he is now more certain about what needs to be done, but for a couple of weeks, the situation was confusing. Bellamy also highlighted the depth of the Roosters’ talent, making them a difficult opposition even if their Origin players don’t make the trip to Melbourne.
“They’re a really good side, they’ve got a lot of talented players in there – there’s probably another four or five players that could have played Origin as well, so they’re a classy side. They’re a really good club, always have been, and just hopefully we can get our game on tomorrow night.”
