Of the countless critical moments in Friday’s pulsating grand final rematch against reigning premiers the Sydney Roosters, there was one in particular that left Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy seething after the 21-20 golden point loss.
A disconsolate Bellamy lamented his side’s slow start but praised his players after somehow clawing back from a 20-0 deficit to draw level in the 52nd minute.
He said he saw Latrell Mitchell sitting in wait before he booted the match-winning field goal in the 81st minute but didn’t fault his men for falling for the Chooks’ clever Cooper Cronk decoy.
But Bellamy couldn’t forgive the missed tackle that allowed Roosters prop Sitili Tupouniua to run straight through the teeth of Melbourne’s defence to put the visitors in position to win the match in the first set of extra time.
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“We paid a huge price for that missed tackle,” Bellamy said.
“We did a really good job in that set with the first two or three tackles and then to let someone run through our middle and run 30 metres, we probably got what we deserved there.”
He added: “To come back from 20-0 against a good side like that’s a really good effort but to put ourselves in that position is quite disappointing and then we probably had a couple of chances to win the game too but we sort of didn’t handle them too well.
“When we got to 20-all we just didn’t manage the game as well as we’ll like.”
“… We probably did a really good job to get back into the game to be honest but we just fell at the final hurdle obviously.”
Pressed on whether the Roosters remain the benchmark team in the competition, Bellamy deadpanned: “We didn’t have to have the game tonight to know that they’re the benchmark.”
“You saw what Mitchell and Tedesco did in the first half a couple of times, there’s not many players in the comp that can do that.
“So they’ve got a fair footy team there.”
Meanwhile, Bellamy said skipper Cameron Smith is ‘a little sore’ after Brodie Croft assumed the goal-kicking duties.
“He’s OK to run but just kicking the ball he’s just a bit sore,” he said.
Brandon Smith suffered a shoulder injury but Bellamy said he was unsure of the severity of the injury after the game.
