Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy refused to blame the officiating for his side’s poor discipline, after the Storm were penalised three times while in possession, leaving the door open for a Canberra comeback.
The Storm went down 20-18 in golden point in the final match of Magic Round, after they led 18-12 with five minutes left.
That lead should have gone to seven points and wrapped up the match for Melbourne when fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen kicked a field goal but the referee had other ideas.
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On review, the Bunker found Storm lock Trent Loiero landed an elbow to the face of Canberra skipper Joe Tapine in the play-the-ball leading up to the field goal attempt.
The Canberra penalty provoked a furious reaction from the Storm coach, who had to hide his face under the desk inside the coach’s box, presumably to shield the cameras and fans from the myriad of expletives he was spewing.
A frustrated Craig Bellamy made sure the camera did not see how furious he was after Ryan Papenhuyzen’s field goal was taken off the scoreboard. FOX Sports
His frustration was palpable, especially since Loiero had already given away a penalty in the first half while in possession, after tussling with Tapine once more.
Then the Storm were inside the Raiders’ 20-metre zone and in prime position for a field goal a few minutes into golden point, when prop Stefano Utoikamanu was sin-binned for stomping on Canberra hooker Tom Starling in the play-the-ball.
Melbourne would have again been in field goal position until Utoikamanu handed possession away.
The Raiders worked their way down field and then Loiero, who finished the match with four penalties, was pinged again when he hit Raiders forward Hudson Young in a high tackle in the 85th minute, with Jamal Fogarty landing the winning penalty.
When asked if Loiero’s lack of discipline was “un-Storm-like”, Bellamy said: “It’s unlike anyone.
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“He did it twice. You show me a bloke who gives away two penalties when he’s got the ball in the game. You’re not looking at too many people. It doesn’t happen often.”
Storm captain Cameron Munster confirmed he had spoken to Loiero post-match.
“I said to him to just take some learnings from it. I have been in those situations before,” Munster said.
Stefano Utoikamanu was sin-binned for the clash with Tom Starling. FOX Sports
“You don’t want to be the guy that clips a chin and they go for two and get the penalty. I have been in grand finals where I have done some silly stuff. He will learn from that.
“He’s a great player and we’ve all had those opportunities and lost those moments. Unfortunately, tonight it was him.
“I’m not going to sit there and bag him. He’s done some great stuff for us as a player. I know what he is feeling. A lot of people will be on his back but as a group we have got to stick together and learn.”
Bellamy said Utoikamanu had to “pick his discipline up” after giving up possession with a penalty.
“I don’t know who was the instigator, at the end of the day you can’t be giving the ball away in those positions,” Bellamy said.
“I only had a look at it once so I’m not exactly sure what happened but to turn the ball over 15 metres from their line, if he was in the wrong, well he needs to pick his discipline up.
“One thing we can control is our actions.
“To give away penalties when you have got the ball, it cost us. It cost us dearly.”
Bellamy and Munster refused to point the finger at the officiating, with Munster saying the Storm played “dumb footy”.
“I can’t remember the last time a team got penalised with the ball but …we played some dumb footy tonight,” Munster said.
“As much as it looked like it was in the hands of the ref, we have to be disciplined with the ball.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow. We can’t afford to keep doing it.”
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