The Trouble At The Storm Is Real: The Melbourne Storm have dropped four games on the trot. They have conceded 88 points the last two weeks. They sit fifth last on the ladder. And this is not a blip on the radar for the Storm but a very real problem for a team that has not dealt with these issues in the 24 seasons of the Craig Bellamy era.
While the Storm will not be as bad as they have been for the last two weeks and much of the last four games, the foundation of their problems are real and will not be overcome to any significant extent this year. Even with Craig Bellamy at the helm and Frank Ponissi continuing to run football, the Storm cannot overcome the run of bad luck, some poor roster decisions and the decline in form of the primary superstars.
The biggest cause of where the Storm is at has been an almost unprecedented run of bad luck that saw Ryan Papenhuyzen retire unexpectedly at the peak of his powers, Eli Katoa’s career possibly ended at representative level and Tui Kamikamika suffering a stroke. These losses would hurt any club but they particularly hurt a side constructed like Melbourne who shun depth to pay elite stars and then a strong group of key players around them. This is a highly effective strategy when those players remain healthy – and the Storm do prize durability – but it falls apart when players become unavailable.
This flows into some dubious roster decisions that have not paid off. The Storm almost never put much money over the last 15 years into outside backs but have spent up on the likes of Nick Meaney, Will Warbrick and Jack Howarth. Even an attempt to get Zac Lomax was very un-Storm like. There has been not nearly enough respect given to the forward pack with the dismissal of Nelson Asofa-Solomona harmful, exacerbated by the issues with Katoa and Kamikamika.
The final concern here has been the decline in form of the ‘Big Three’. When the ‘Big Three’ were Slater, Smith and Cronk, Melbourne had three players who played at an elite level every game and were available nearly every game. The same is just not true of Cam Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant. Munster is the wrong side of 30 and his form has been in decline for a number of years. Hughes has been very good but has not risen to his Dally M best the last 18 months. Grant remains elite and on the up but is limited if his pack is getting mauled.
Melbourne are in rare territory. It is going to take a significant roster overhaul to get themselves back into genuine premiership contention.
Disruptor Madness: Rugby League has a long and sordid history of utterly moronic rule changes and perhaps the crown jewel of cripplingly crass laws is the disruptor rule. When combined with a set of Bunker officials who have absolutely no feel for the game, you get some howlingly bad decisions that nearly any organisation outside of the NRL would be hugely embarrassed by. Chris Butler determining that Scott Drinkwater was not contesting the ball that led to a penalty against the Cowboys and subsequently a try was a humiliation to Rugby League, a decision reached by someone who has absolutely no understanding of the game. Rules around going up with one hand are inconsistently and sporadically applied. Officials are there arguing intent. Incidental contact is ruled as deliberate. If ever a rule needs to be eradicated, it is the disruptor rule.
How Can Ashley Klein Look Himself In The Mirror? Senior official Ashley Klein has had some shameful weekends but he will do well to top his efforts both with the whistle and in The Bunker over the course of Round 6 where he delivered some utterly clownish howlers. None, of course, topped his horrific decision to award Dominic Young a try when even those who backed the Knights and likely Young himself would not have given what was clearly a bounce. Klein has an infuriating trait of having the need to cutely attempt to prove he is smarter than everyone else, a combination of arrogance, obstinance and contrarianism. Young clearly bounced the ball. Watch it at any speed and it is abundantly obvious. There is no debate. Yet Klein awarded it. He cannot be trusted to make correct decisions.
Weekes Scores Try of the Season: Kaeo Weekes is far from the best fullback in the competition but there is no custodian who is more adept at scoring scintillating long-range solo tries than the Canberra No.1. His key try against South Sydney where he drifted across field, broke through, stepped another, brushed off Jack Wighton and raced away was the most obscene try scored this season.
Luciano You Lunatic: The Leilua brothers have never been known for their intelligence but even by low expectations the single most bone-headed play of the season was a shock when Luciano Leiula did not pass the ball with a three-on-one overlap at a key moment of the must-win clash against Manly but put in a grubber kick that ended up somewhere around Bowral. It was complete lunacy and the single play that sums up the Dragons season and the lack of development players are given.
Hooked: There is little more humiliating than getting hooked. It is also a rarity these days when rotations are virtually pre-determined and players are rarely pulled for playing poorly. We had it twice over the weekend though with Joe Chan and Wilson De Courcey hooked. Chan had about the most un-Melbourne Storm like game possible, a performance so lazy and ill-disciplined that he received an almighty bake from Craig Bellamy at halftime. He came out to be immediately penalised for not putting his foot on the ball when playing it. He will do well to still have a job. De Courcey, in just his second game, was pulled at halftime after being humiliated by the Tigers right side.
The Willie M Team of the Week – Round 6: This week’s team of clowns and clutzes:
1.Fletcher Hunt (New)[Text Wrapping Break]2.Sione Katoa (Cro)[Text Wrapping Break]3.Valentine Holmes (Dra)[Text Wrapping Break]4.Wilson De Courcey (New)[Text Wrapping Break]5.Marcelo Montoya (Bul)[Text Wrapping Break]6.Blaize Talagi (Pen)[Text Wrapping Break]7.Nicho Hynes (Cro)[Text Wrapping Break]8.Stefano Utoikamanu (Mel)[Text Wrapping Break]9.Ryley Smith (Par)[Text Wrapping Break]10.Jack Williams (Par)[Text Wrapping Break]11.Luciano Leilua (Dra)[Text Wrapping Break]12.Joe Chan (Mel)[Text Wrapping Break]13.Trent Loiero (Mel)[Text Wrapping Break]—————————————[Text Wrapping Break]14.Tallyn Da Silva (Par)[Text Wrapping Break]15.Xavier Willison (Bri)[Text Wrapping Break]16.Lachlan Hubner (Sou)[Text Wrapping Break]17.Jack De Belin (Par)[Text Wrapping Break]—————————————–
Coach: Shane Flanagan (Dra)
Referee Gradings: This week’s officiating grades:
- Gerard Sutton (C-)
- Adam Gee (D)
- Ashley Klein (F) – Klein’s work against the Cowboys including a try off a blatant forward pass and then calling a forward pass when the Cowboys were clear was shameful.
- Liam Kennedy (D-) – It is utterly shameful that Kennedy returned from being dropped and have just three six agains and six penalties when before he was dropped be gave a combined 28.
- Todd Smith (C+)
- Grant Atkins (C)
- Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski (B)
- Wyatt Raymond (B+) – Gave just three six agains.
The 2026 Field Goal Update – 5: Two field goals in the Broncos-Cowboys game from Tom Duffy and Scott Drinkwater saw scores locked at 31-all before a Heilum Luki try saw the game finish 35-31, the first time that score had occurred in 118 premiership seasons.
Fun Fact #1: Shane Flanagan claimed that he had never lost four games in a row before despite the fact he is on an 11-game losing streak.
Fun Fact #2: Flanagan has, in fact, endured a 10-game losing streak prior to this one, losing 10 on the trot from Round 19 2011 to Round 3 2012.
Fun Fact #3: Flanagan has had 12 streaks at NRL level of four straight defeats.
Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: Wayne Bennett’s refusal to bring Ed Kosi on when Jye Gray got hurt was utterly insane. The entire point of the bench being extended to six players is to give coaches specialists when a back gets hurt. Yet Bennett passed on this to go with a complete reshuffle. Not surprisingly, the Rabbitohs went on to lose.
The Coaching Crosshairs: Shane Flanagan has almost certainly coached his last game at St George Illawarra with the board set to meet on Tuesday morning to discuss his future. It will not go well. Flanagan has never been a coach renowned for his tactical acumen, rather surviving on a combination of rah-rah cheerleading, fear-driven mental games with his playing group and a long list of media mates who pushed his case. So when he has been unable to get his team up at all this season, he has had nothing to go too. It is hard making any kind of case that Flanagan should keep the job as he simply – quite clearly – does not have the answers. Blaming Ben Hunt 18 months after he was driven out of the club by Flanagan and claiming not to know what it is like to lose four games in a row when he has endured a losing streak of 10 at the top level are just the desperate ramblings of a coach who knows the end is nigh and is doing his best to squirm his way to another week. The Dragons are an incredibly poorly run club but there is no doubt that the most influential figure at the club over the last three seasons has been Flanagan, who must now accept responsibility for the 19-35 record over that run and 0-6 start. He is the one who drove Hunt from the club. He is the one who not only plays his son at halfback at the expense of all other options but has refused to bring in any half that could usurp him. He went out of his way to bring in three veterans on big-money deals who have all not played anywhere near their pay-cheque. He has stymied the development of talented youngsters. There is absolutely no question Flanagan is not the man to take them forward. It is not even clear that he truly understands how Rugby League needs to be played in 2026 – he certainly does not understand roster construction. The time is upon the Dragons to move on and start setting up for the future.
Watch It: This video needs no introduction. It is pretty much every send off from 1990. There were some belters in the 1990s as well as some great names: Scott Mahon, Robert Tocco, Martin Masella about 10 times. Watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JMtafjaE5M