![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, cheers the Broncos for that,\u201d he joked to Fox League post-game. <\/p>\n
But the Craig Bellamy-coached Storm, usually the last team you would want to face off a loss, went down again. And again. And again.<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t just go down either. They were dominated, first by Penrith as Melbourne conceded 50 points and then by the Warriors at home.<\/p>\n
It means that for the first time since 2012, the Storm are staring down the possibility of losing five games in a row under Bellamy. <\/p>\n
Now, they did end up winning the competition that year, but that was a post-Origin slump.<\/p>\n
Already, the 2-4 start to the season marks Melbourne\u2019s worst with Bellamy at the helm and the equal-worst in club history while 13th is the lowest the Bellamy-coached Storm have been on the ladder at Round 5 or later, excluding 2010 when they were docked competition points.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sitting in the green room watching the game and I was saying this is something I\u2019ve never seen from a Melbourne Storm. That\u2019s what it felt like for me watching,\u201d Warriors legend and Fox League expert Shaun Johnson said last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think about a Melbourne Storm, you think about the best in the comp, nail the basics, never beat themselves especially on their home deck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, the Storm look a shell of the team that has fallen just short of a premiership in the past two years.<\/p>\n
Although, according to premiership-winning Melbourne halfback Cooper Cronk, that is part of the problem.<\/p>\n
Speaking on \u2018Matty and Cronk\u2019 earlier in the year, he said he does not see \u201canything physical wrong\u201d with the way the Storm are going about things.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach is great. They\u2019ve arguably got three of the best players in the game in Munster, Hughes and Grant,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cDefensively, there\u2019s some questions around that at different stages, but Craig Bellamy knows a defensive game plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompletion rate, they\u2019ve got the best completion rate in the competition, so it\u2019s nothing physical in what I\u2019m seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n Grant backing Storm to bounce back | 01:24<\/p>\n Instead, he argued there may be mental scars that the Storm are battling after the grand final losses to Brisbane and Penrith, drawing upon his own experience to illustrate that point.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost a couple of grand finals and I second-guessed myself the following year,\u201d Cronk said. \u201cLuckily enough, I managed to win off the back of it. I think if you lose two grand finals, subconsciously, do you start second-guessing yourself around does this actually really work?\u201d<\/p>\n It is an opinion shared by Knights legend Matty Johns, who said on SEN Radio that he believes there could be \u201cserious motivation issues\u201d for the Storm.<\/p>\n \u201cNot motivation as far as we can\u2019t be bothered,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to remember this is a team that has lost the last two grand finals… to lose two in a row is very difficult… there\u2019d be part of you going, \u2018We\u2019ve lost two in a row, if we get ourselves there again and lose three in a row\u2019 that can be a serious stain on your career.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Johns and Cronk believe Melbourne is capable of turning it around and, given Bellamy\u2019s track record as a coach, it is hard to imagine the Storm missing the top eight let alone not being a premiership threat come September. <\/p>\n But this is uncharted territory, and that is not just in reference to Melbourne\u2019s slow start to the season. This is also a brand-new NRL. <\/p>\n Raiders coach Ricky Stuart only said on Thursday<\/a> that the \u201cfabric of the game\u201d is being lost with the NRL\u2019s changes to the six again rules. <\/p>\n In case you need a reminder, the league made it so that six agains would also be awarded between the 20 and 40-metre zone which has only increased the pace of play. <\/p>\n MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n TALKING POINTS: \u2018Surprise\u2019 club switch doesn\u2019t add up; Dogs expose Panthers flaw<\/a><\/p>\n LATE MAIL: Dragons cop fresh blow; Benji reveals stunning Luai offer<\/a><\/p>\n Bellamy: “Need to make changes” | 04:32<\/p>\n It has also placed a greater emphasis on having the kind of forward pack and direct playing style that can take advantage of quick play-the-balls to roll up the field.<\/p>\n The problem? There haven\u2019t been many of them for the Storm this year. <\/p>\n Melbourne has struggled to generate ruck speed in 2026, with an average of 45.5 fast (less than 2.5 second) play-the-balls compared to 54 last year (a 16 per cent decrease).<\/p>\n On the other hand, their slow (more than 4 second) play-the-balls are up 14 per cent from 19.1 per game last year to 21.8 this season. <\/p>\n Fullback Sua Fa\u2019alogo has been the worst culprit team-wide. He has a team-high 102 runs but leads the NRL in slow play-the-balls (48), with 50 per cent of his play-the-balls categorised as slow.<\/p>\n The Storm have also lost tackle dominance, down from a league-best 48.5 per cent of tackle positions won to 41.5 per cent this season (11th) and 39.7 per cent since Round 3 (13th).<\/p>\n The result has been an incredibly quiet start to the season from hooker Harry Grant, who thrives with quick play-the-balls and against tired defences.<\/p>\n Instead, Grant has averaged just three runs for 21 metres during Melbourne\u2019s losing streak.<\/p>\n That isn\u2019t good news for the Storm, because they have won just 13 of 29 games (45 per cent) when Grant runs fewer than five times. <\/p>\n Beyond Grant, the slower play-the-balls have also led to a steep drop-off in the effectiveness of Melbourne\u2019s pack overall and their ability to generate second-phase play. <\/p>\n The numbers below are grim reading for Bellamy, with the Storm rating last in run metres and post-contact metres per game which has restricted their ability to keep the ball moving.<\/p>\n MELBOURNE\u2019S FORM SLUMP IN NUMBERS (Rounds 1-2 vs Rounds 3-6) via Fox Sports Lab<\/p>\n Run metres: 1705 (2nd) vs 1246 (17th) <\/p>\n Post-contact metres: 563 (2nd) vs 398 (17th) <\/p>\n Tackle busts: 46.5 (2nd) vs 36.3 (10th) <\/p>\n Offloads: 8.5 (tied 10th) vs 7.8 (16th) <\/p>\n Total metres after offload: 170 (3rd) vs 118 (17th) <\/p>\n Metres per offload phase: 10 (1st) vs 3.8 (17th)<\/p>\n NRL 2026 RD04NRL 2026 RD04 North Queensland Cowboys v Melbourne Storm – Harry Grant. Picture: NRL PhotosSource: Supplied<\/p>\n Interestingly, despite their slower play-the-balls and run metres, the Storm have still averaged the sixth-most tackles inside the opposition 20 (31.5) in the past four weeks while their completion rate ranks second-best (84 per cent).<\/p>\n But despite that, the usually clinical Storm have been anything but in attacking territory.<\/p>\n They are averaging 24 errors inside the opposition\u2019s 10-metre zone, which ranks equal third-worst in the league, while their 15.5 points per game and 2.8 tries scored rank second-worst.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say and they will turn this around… because Bellamy has done it for 25 years (but) they have a lot of problems at the moment that they will fix,\u201d Fox League expert Luke Keary said on James Graham\u2019s podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s some confidence stuff, there\u2019s some edge D stuff that you just do not see out of Melbourne and even their middles are getting dominated at the moment. I haven\u2019t seen Cam and Jahrome playing with no confidence. I haven\u2019t seen it from them. It can happen. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got a strong enough culture to turn it (around) but defensively it\u2019s almost like when you get down there you know you\u2019re going to score.\u201d<\/p>\n Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n Bellamy blasts Chan in halftime spray | 00:34<\/p>\n Again, the numbers back that observation up too. <\/p>\n The Storm have the worst red zone defence in the NRL with teams needing just six tackles in their 20 to score. <\/p>\n That is unheard of for a Bellamy-coached team, and inexperience on the edges has certainly played its part with Melbourne desperately missing Xavier Coates on the wing. <\/p>\n It makes even more sense why the Storm were so desperate to try sign Zac Lomax earlier this year and while Coates is expected to return in around a month, Melbourne can\u2019t afford to drop too many more games or risk losing any hope of a top-four finish.<\/p>\n Since 2017, only four teams have even made the top eight after a five-game losing streak and while you can\u2019t doubt a coach of Bellamy\u2019s calibre, the fact the Storm have conceded the second-most points in the first 20 minutes after halftime suggests his voice alone is not enough to save them.<\/p>\n