This was published 9 years ago
No complaints from Craig Bellamy over Melbourne Storm draw
By Roy Ward
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy turned down the chance to unload on the NRL about his side's 2015 fixture on Tuesday.
In his media press conference in the lead-up to the new season, Bellamy said watching the Sydney siege unfold on Monday and early Tuesday morning had put football complaints into perspective.
Billy Slater and other Storm players training in Melbourne on Tuesday.Credit: Getty Images
"It seems a bit petty to stand here and complain about a draw when you consider what happened last night in Sydney," Bellamy said. "We will get through the draw and, Iike I said, we haven't got too much to complain about. It sort of averages out, you get a few at home and a few away – we will handle the draw and go from there."
The Storm play just two home games in the first six rounds and play six Monday night games in the first 20 rounds, which will lead to several short turnarounds. Instead, Bellamy said his side would make the cards they have been dealt work and focus on preparing as best they can.
The Storm's full list of players is expected to be back at training on January 5 although captain Cameron Smith will be out for the early rounds after ankle surgery.
Bellamy said Smith's surgery had gone as well as could be expected and he hoped Smith could be back on field as early as round three, although earlier medical advice was that Smith would miss the first month.
"Apparently it [his surgery] went well," Bellamy said. "I saw him last night and he is still in a boot and can't put any weight on it at the moment. It will be a bit of a wait to see how he recovers and they are still sticking to the first diagnosis, where he will miss the first two or three weeks of the season.
"Because there is no footy on the moment he is not too concerned about it, but when the footy starts I think he will try and put the accelerator down. At the moment he knows he has to stay off it for four weeks and won't jeopardise the injury this early."
Bellamy added Smith's wife Barbara wasn't too impressed with the timing considering school holidays are just about to begin. "Smithy's kids take some looking after especially young Jasper who is full of beans," Bellamy joked.
Slade Griffin and Ryan Hinchcliffe have been tabbed to share Smith's role at hooker, with neither expected to play the full 80 minutes at the position. With the majority of Storm's international stars still on holidays or on restricted programs, Bellamy said his next generation of leaders were stepping up.
"They have had a pretty tough pre-season, it has been one of our toughest in three or four years," Bellamy said. "It has been a very young squad with our Four Nations players still on a break. I'm really happy with the way they have hung in and got through a lot of hard work.
"A few of the guys have stepped up, Benny Hampton has really stepped up, he and Jordan McLean have been really impressive so far this pre-season."
The Storm coach highlighted the impact of new signings Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and Blake Green on his younger players.
"Blake always has something good to say during meetings and it's really good to have someone with an opinion," Bellamy said. "Blake has come on and trained well, he is a really hard trainer. Learoyd-Lahrs has been working really hard and been really handy without other senior guys here."