Storm coach Craig Bellamy has slammed his side's effort against the Cowboys, describing the performance as 'putrid' after a shock 45-20 loss in Townsville.
After a slow start, Melbourne came back to level the scores at 14-14 heading into the break, but completely fell apart in the second stanza, finishing with 52 missed tackles for the match.
North Queensland were extremely impressive and look to have turned their season around, with the likes of Valentine Holmes and Murray Taulagi backing up their QLD Maroons performances.
Cameron Munster and Harry Grant both featured for the visitors just days removed from the Origin opener, but it wasn't enough to compete with the firepower across the park from the hosts.
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“The second-half was the same as our first-half start… putrid, to be quite honest," Bellamy said.
"Our defence today was the disappointing part of it, but the two starts to halves we went down 10-0 and then they blew us away at the start of the second-half as well.
"That’s when we should be at our freshest at the start of the game… we don’t learn from our mistakes. I’m not sure when the penny is going to drop… we got what we deserved.
“If I knew the answer, we wouldn’t be inconsistent. It’s frustrating and it must be frustrating for the players as well.
"It’s been there all year and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better."
Melbourne have struggled for consistency throughout the season and Bellamy's recent decision to stay put for 2024 hasn't helped change their fortunes.
With clashes against contenders Penrith and Cronulla over the next month, the long-time premiership front-runners could find themselves outside the top-eight coming out of the Origin period.
