‘Struggling to adapt’: NRL’s big change has Bellamy’s Storm facing evolve or die ultimatum

Matty Johns has warned the Melbourne Storm they may need to change their approach as Craig Bellamy’s side struggles to adapt to the speed of the modern game amid rule changes.

The Storm’s dynasty under Bellamy, which has seen them never miss the finals during his tenure is under threat, as the side sits second last amid a six-game losing streak.

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The Storm have gone from back-to-back grand final appearances to battling the Dragons for the wooden spoon, after a number of injuries in their engine room and the departures of Ryan stars Papenhuyzen and Nelson Asofa-Solomona.

Bellamy labelled their last start 48-6 hammering at the hands of Souths, who had never beaten them in Melbourne, the most embarrassing defeat of his career.

“Melbourne are you putting a line through them for the semi-finals?” Bryan Fletcher asked Johns on Sunday Night with Matty Johns.

“They can’t finish top four.”

However, Johns is reluctant to bet against Bellamy turning it around, given his success over the last two decades.

“To actually come out and say that Melbourne won’t play finals is a really big call,” Johns said.

“If I was sitting here and hadn’t watched any football, had no idea what had happened the previous 20 years, you’d say there’s no way in the world, but you just know what these blokes are about.

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“And often times, just when you think, you don’t give them a chance, they start to perform and things start to happen.

“We go back to season 2012, where they lose five games in a row mid-season and all of a sudden they go on a winning streak and win the competition.”

However, Johns likened the Storm to the Dragons in that when things are going badly, even your best players make uncharacteristic mistakes.

“I’ll say this about the Storm and I said this about the Dragons, often when things are going bad, you don’t know how bad they are until some of your most important and experienced players start to make unusual errors or errors that they don’t normally make,” Johns said.

“And I saw that with Jaydn Su’A and Valentine Holmes that last game they played with Flanno in charge.

“When you’re seeing your players are struggling like they are, you know the mould has really set into the house.

“And I watched Nick Meaney the other night and he is a bloke who has just been so solid. You saw that error there and he never makes errors like that.

“It just shows you where they’re at, at the moment and I tell you, it’s a tough one, but it’s a great organisation.”

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However, Fletcher gave Storm fans hope by what the Panthers did last year after going from last to a prelim final.

“Penrith were in exactly the same position after Round 8 last year, they were two and six, so there’s hope for them,” Fletcher said.

However, Nathan Hindmarsh doubts the Storm can turn it around in time to play finals.

“I can’t see them getting out of this hole,” Hindmarsh said.

Johns noted it is a bad sign that Bellamy seems out of answers.

“You see Bellyache and part of it’s this that he sits in the press conferences and he’s going, I don’t know,” Johns said.

Hindmarsh questioned if Bellamy knows how to get his team out of the hole, given he has never been in this position before.

“That’s a bit scary because when your coach has been there forever and has won multiple premierships and has taken them to semi-finals every year, I don’t know whether he doesn’t know because he’s never been in this position before and he’s scratching his head,” Hindmarsh said.

“But I’m looking at their go-forward. I don’t see much. I’m seeing Munster probably defending a lot and Munster was below par for him.

“I know he came out the other week and said, look, I’ll stick my hand up and I’ll cop it because I’m not performing that well.

“But I thought against a side like the Bunnies, I thought he would stand up and demand the ball and be involved a lot more.”

Johns feels the six-again rule change has turned the competition on its head and wondered if the Storm were struggling to adapt.

“In the history and modern rugby league from the 80s forward, there’s been three or four occasions where there’s been a little rule adjustment that we didn’t think a lot of, but it had a significant effect on the games and who dominated games,” Johns said.

“And you go from 1986 try-less grand final, 4-2, Parramatta versus Bulldogs, two best defensive sides.

“The next year they loosen the rucks, make it from five-meter rule to eight-meter rule. Who makes the grand final? It’s the Raiders who come out of nowhere as the best attacking side and Manly.

“And you see that throughout rugby league history, it happens. Occasionally, the competition gets turned on its head. And what we’ve seen, we’ve underestimated this 20-40 rule with the six agains, where there’s no penalties unless it’s in your own quarter.

“That has made the game so continuous, it’s added another layer of fatigue and speed to the game and maybe they’re just struggling to adapt to it.”

Fletcher agreed the NRL’s push to get the wrestle out of the game has hit the Storm more than most.

“Because they were so good in controlling the ruck in the old days, now the referee is saying, release straight away,” Fletcher said.

“In the old days, they could wrestle a little bit, which made your line get set. Penrith are the best at doing it. They are just on the border line every time.”

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