Roy Ward - SMH - JULY 9 2017 - 10:24AM
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has claimed the Parramatta Eels are getting away with even more "slowing" tactics than his side.
The Storm coach was unimpressed with the defensive tactics of the Eels in the second half of his side's 22-6 loss at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Parramatta took another step towards finals football with a convincing win in Melbourne.
Bellamy also accused his own side of "dipping their toes in" at the start of the game which saw Eels winger Semi Radradra dominate the early going as the Eels took a match-winning 16-0 lead.
But with the Storm's forward pack starting to gain metres in the second half, Bellamy claimed the Eels were allowed to get away with keeping his side on the ground during tackles.
Parramatta's Semi Radradra tore Storm apart in the early stages of the game. Photo: Getty ImagesIt's a claim long made against the Storm and Bellamy was clearly frustrated the Eels weren't penalised.
"I thought in the last 50 minutes there wasn't much in the game at all," Bellamy said.
"Our start cost us and having a couple of guys off cost us dearly too.
Storm's Suliasi Vunivalu toppled by a couple of Eels. Photo: Getty Images"But tonight I thought it was real slow and at times they were just laying on, laying on, laying on.
"So having said that, good luck to them, they got away with it and they were basically too good."
Bellamy took the unusual step of going down to the sidelines in the second half and he did so to get answers on another concern.
"I just wanted to ask why the game was stopped three times when Parramatta players were injured then it wasn't stopped when Jahrome Hughes was injured," Bellamy said.
"I've been given an answer that the referee asked if Jahrome was OK and apparently he must have said yes, but I don't think it's the referees job to decide whether a player is injured or not.
"That consistency irked me at the time.
"We either stop the game for injuries or we don't stop the game for injuries – it's either one or the other.
"It's probably the rule at the moment for the trainer to go up and stop the game but sometimes that is to your advantage, most times it is and that's when they are going to be asking."
The veteran coach wants a more black and white rule on stopping or not stopping the game.
"To me if we are going to stop the game for injuries, let's stop it for all injuries," Bellamy said.
"Or if we are going to stop them for HIA's [concussion tests] then let's stop it for all HIAs.
"Let's get a little consistency about it. Stopping it for some and not others is just stupid."
The Storm were without their six State of Origin stars plus centre Curtis Scott (illness) and they lost returning centre Cheyse Blair in the opening minutes to a right ankle injury.
Bellamy said he fears it could be a repeat of the ankle injury which Blair had minor surgery on and has missed the past month.
"It looks like he has cracked his ankle again," Bellamy said.
"He had a pin put in there five or six weeks ago so I don't think we will see Cheyse again judging by the sound of things.
"I'm not quite sure what has gone wrong there, whether it's a new injury or the pin hasn't stayed in - I'm not quite sure what has happened.
"They won't know until they have a scan on it but it's bad news."
Utility Tohu Harris was taken off in the last 10 minutes after moving gingerly on his troublesome knee but Bellamy said that was more of a precaution.
The Storm have a bye this coming weekend and the full side will have a week off following Monday's review.
Replies
The hide of the cheating POS.
He was just being the off field Cam Smith in disguise.
So Bellamy believes his team hasn't been "looked after" by the referees.
Thats a shame!
Now he knows how we usually feel when we play them.
Cry me a river. This from the bloke that introduced all of these tactics into the NRL. Give the bloke a chicken wing.
Didn't whinge about the 7-4 penalty count to the storm did he. He's kidding himself.
Craig Bellamy, you can't hate the players in the game. As the world marveled at your delaying tactics over the years, now you can get on your knees and beg for ours. As a Melbourne coach, however, it is beyond hilarious for him to be discussing cheating of any kind. Be thankful for being able to retain your big three for most of your coaching career.
He even applauds the delaying tactics, and I quote:
"So having said that, good luck to them, they got away with it and they were basically too good."
In concession, it is not that hard for a first grade team to out-wrestle a reserve squad.
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