Are Melbourne finished?

[t-ba]

If Hynes isn't their #1 in the finals they won't win the competition. Papenhuyzen was not far off Tommy Trbo level at the start of this year but their attack looks a mess with him at the back. I know Paps is the future for them but if they want to win this year they need to put Hynes back there imo.

He's gun shy. Needs to rebuild his confidence.

Week 24 of the NRL season is not the time to be doing this when you've got a Nico Hynes to play there.

Great player to have as your impact sub for the next 5 weeks but.

 

[The Predictor]

Any team that loses twice in a year to the Patternbaldnessmatta Eels is certainly finished

Go suck a lemon you wanker, Go Parra

 

[lazza]

What happened to big Nelson? R they saving him?

 

[Lemon Squash]

Go suck a lemon you wanker, Go Parra

Unfortunately for you I’m also an Eels supporter brah

 

[hineyrulz]

I predicted the fall of the Storm ages ago, yes yes you can all thank me.

 

[baselinepanther]

over to you Craig

are you game enough to throw the minor premiership, rest 10 players & have your team well beaten by parramatta & then lapped by the sharks in the final 2 games of the H&A
not great preparation is it ?
The Storm need to respond to last night & i know that sounds silly given their 19 previous wins in a row but this could unravel very quickly & put huge pressure on the Storm in week one of the finals if Bellamy doesn't get it right next week

right for me is resting a few but putting a team on the park that will win

 

[big hit!]

A few little things Bellamy will be upset about last night.

First half, Olam decides to kick from dummy half and ball goes dead instead of giving it to a half. Result was a Parra 7-tackle set instead of a kick for a try or a repeat set. Melbourne strangle you in games with pressure and Olam's play an easy out for the opposition that you generally see lower teams do, not Melbourne. Bellamy would've been pissed at that, deviating from the team rules.

Parra completed 90% of their sets. Melbourne were down at about 65% which is unusual for them.

Parra dominated in the middle. Really bashed Melbourne around. Paulo, Papali'i and Brown all turned up at the same time again like they did in games earlier in the season, and it allowed Moses, Brown & Gutho the time and space to capitalise. It got to a stage that Melbourne got lazy/fatigued around the ruck a few times, which is not something you see often from Melbourne. Who knows if it plays out the same if Finucane and big Nelson are in.

Bellamy went into this match starting with a different spine that they've had for most of the season. Papi and Grant began the match with Smith at 13. Finucane was out which was a big loss, but Bellamy has a bit of a headache fitting in everyone in an effective way when they're all fit. Papi isn't in the form he was before his concussions, and Grant sometimes tries to do too much and he ends up getting fatigued and ineffective. It works when he comes off the bench because he's fresh while other players are fatigued and he can take advantage of it, but at the beginning of the game he needs to let the Melbourne big boppers sort it out. When it wasn't working, he tried to even do more on his own and Parra handled him fairly easily. Problem for Bellamy is he'll not want to take 2 skill players on the bench in finals and only have 2 middle rotations. Starting Grant prevents this, but he has to adjust his game if that's the way they go.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

over to you Craig

are you game enough to throw the minor premiership, rest 10 players & have your team well beaten by parramatta & then lapped by the sharks in the final 2 games of the H&A
not great preparation is it ?
The Storm need to respond to last night & i know that sounds silly given their 19 previous wins in a row but this could unravel very quickly & put huge pressure on the Storm in week one of the finals if Bellamy doesn't get it right next week

right for me is resting a few but putting a team on the park that will win

Storm have a 140+ points differential advantage over Penrith. They can afford and should rest a few.

 

[The_Frog]

Storm have a 140+ points differential advantage over Penrith. They can afford and should rest a few.

If they lose next week they will most likely run second. Not a big deal though, lose $100k but get Souffs in week 1 rather than Manly. I doubt Belly is scared of either. His worry is that his team has been flat for a month or so and finally came up against an opponent who didn't beat themselves. I do think he'll realise that both Hynes and Grant on the bench is a luxury he cannot afford.

He wants to be careful the NRL don't bring in the rest weekend before the finals start like the AFL did.

 

[seanoff]

I wouldn’t read anything into that loss. The fact they won 19 is a minor miracle. The loss will do them good.

It’s them or Penrith unless turbo goes completely mental. South’s are gone, parra aren’t remotely close to good enough. The rest are so far off it barely matters.

 

[big hit!]

I wouldn’t read anything into that loss. The fact they won 19 is a minor miracle. The loss will do them good.

It’s them or Penrith unless turbo goes completely mental. South’s are gone, parra aren’t remotely close to good enough. The rest are so far off it barely matters.

Parra are good enough to beat any of the top 4. The question is can Parra put in a performance like that in 3 or 4 consecutive games in the finals? They're capable of beating Penrith next week, then lose against Cronulla or Canberra in Week 1 of finals.

They'd be a tough team to support right now

 

[big hit!]

If they lose next week they will most likely run second. Not a big deal though, lose $100k but get Souffs in week 1 rather than Manly. I doubt Belly is scared of either. His worry is that his team has been flat for a month or so and finally came up against an opponent who didn't beat themselves. I do think he'll realise that both Hynes and Grant on the bench is a luxury he cannot afford.

He wants to be careful the NRL don't bring in the rest weekend before the finals start like the AFL did.

The AFL normally do that. They didn't do it this season.

And surely the NRL have let every club know what the schedule is now.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

If they lose next week they will most likely run second. Not a big deal though, lose $100k but get Souffs in week 1 rather than Manly. I doubt Belly is scared of either. His worry is that his team has been flat for a month or so and finally came up against an opponent who didn't beat themselves. I do think he'll realise that both Hynes and Grant on the bench is a luxury he cannot afford.

He wants to be careful the NRL don't bring in the rest weekend before the finals start like the AFL did.

They have been flat indeed and I think letting some key players take a break and freshen up would be the sensible option.

 

[some11]

What happened to big Nelson? R they saving him?

Hamstring. Finucane under concussion protocol.

So their two best forwards to come back.

 

[Johns Magic]

Two things Bellamy needs to do this week

1) Ask Papenhuyzen to make a call about whether he’s ready to put his body on the line. Back him if he says yes, Hynes if he says no.

2) Tell Olam to stop reading his own press. Stop the attempted miracle plays that have crept into his game. Get back to basics and that’s run the ball hard, especially out of their end, which has fallen by the wayside lately.

 

[mozza91]

Are on a worrying losing streak. Can’t see them ever recovering.

 

[Perth Red]

Eels played very very well, Storm looked tired. write us off at your peril lol

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Time to relocate to

Eels played very very well, Storm looked tired. write us off at your peril lol

Perth were written off 20 odd years ago

 

[Cockosh]

I can’t believe anyone is writing Storm off. People are so quick to react to a teams last win or loss. I reckon most teams on a streak need to drop a game before finals. Happened with chooks in 13 and I think with sharks jn 16. Storm will be in the gf I have no doubt.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

No is writing them off. This thread is 7 years old.