Tui Kamikamica was already facing the prospect of the NRL grand final being his last game for the Melbourne Storm. And a brutal moment in Sunday night’s loss to the Broncos has only clouded his future even further.
It looked like the bench forward had scored early in the second half for a try that would have given the Storm a 28-10 lead. Kamikamica was first to the ball after a nice grubber from Cameron Munster, and only had to put the ball down over the line.
Tui Kamikamica got up and told Cameron Munster (R) he grounded the ball. Image: Channel 9
But Reece Walsh produced a stellar effort to knock the ball free and Kamikamica dropped it over the line. The Broncos went all the way down the other end off the ensuing 20m restart, with Gehamat Shibasaki crossing to cut the lead.
The Broncos eventually went ahead 26-22 and held on at the death, with Walsh again producing a try-saver on Ryan Papenhuyzen. Kamikamica’s bombed try changed the game, and ended up costing the Storm dearly.
“It’s tough losing a grand final whatever the situation is,” coach Craig Bellamy said afterwards. “With that lead we had (we should have won), and I made that point with the dropped ball over the line was a big turning point.
“It was a no try and it would have made it 20 points in front. They then went up the other end and scored a try so that was a huge turning point. I think it was a pretty big turning point, but you’ve got to give the Broncos some credit for coming back because they’ve been coming back the whole finals series.
“We were pretty disappointed with how we let a few tries in, but we just weren’t good enough on the night and the Broncos were. We’re disappointed with the result, but to make a grand final is hard work and the boys did a good job to do that. We would have loved to have won, but we didn’t.”
A late effort from Reece Walsh saw Tui Kamikamica drop the ball over the line. Image: Channel 9
Tui Kamikamica might have played last game for Storm
The devastating moment for Kamikamica threatens to be his last in Melbourne Storm colours. He was hooked by Bellamy not long after, and there’s every chance he’ll quit the club in the off-season.
It came to light last week that Melbourne have only offered him the league-minimum $140,000 for 2026 – a massive pay-cut on the $400,000 he earned this season. Kamikamica has a club option in his deal for next year, but the Storm have only offered a paltry deal due to salary cap restraints.
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The Fijian international drew interest from the Broncos and Rabbitohs earlier this year, but both clubs decided against making him an offer. It means he can either stay at the Storm on $260,000 less, or head to the UK Super League – with St Helens reportedly interested.
Manager Jeff Jurotte told the Courier Mail last week: “Tui would love to finish his career at Melbourne, but they have salary-cap pressures. He has had an offer from the Storm and he has interest from St Helens, but his preference is to stay in Australia.
“He was close to going to Souths with Wayne (Bennett) but unfortunately the deal fell through. I had some talks with the Broncos but that didn’t work out either. Tui is still in brilliant shape, if you look at him with his shirt off, he has one of the best physiques in the NRL. He has a young family and he’s got commitments here, so ideally Tui can stay in the NRL.”
Tui Kamikamica looks on during the NRL grand final. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Future clouded for multiple Melbourne Storm players
Kamikamica has played 138 games for the Storm since debuting in 2017, and was one of their unsung heroes this year across 24 games. The 31-year-old also played 16 Test matches for Fiji.
He’s not the only Storm player facing an uncertain future. The club is reportedly trying to move Nelson Asofa-Solomona after he was suspended for two grand finals in a row, while Papenhuyzen is considering an offer from R360 and young gun Jonah Pezet has been linked to multiple clubs.