Injured Storm trio fit for grand final but NAS in doubt
While Melbourne’s injured trio have already declared their fitness for the NRL grand final, coach Craig Bellamy said superstars Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes almost didn’t play in the second half of their win over the Sydney Roosters.
The Storm thumped the Roosters 48-18 in their preliminary final at AAMI Park on Friday night with skipper Grant and halfback Hughes, who scored a hat-trick of tries, among the heroes.
But the pair, along with goal-kicking centre Nick Meaney, struggled to finish the match.
A neck injury flared for Hughes while Grant suffered a calf issue early in the match and then Meaney suffered a knee knock.
Hughes and Meaney departed in the final five minutes of the match while Grant played the full 80 but the trio looked ginger post-match, with ice and strapping on the injuries.
Bellamy praised the resilience of his players to dig deep when the side needed them to play on, with the grand final berth on the line.
“It just goes to show, we all know what good players they are, talented players they are, but they’re tough bastards,” said the master coach, into his 10th NRL grand final.
“To be able to play out the second half like they did, it just goes to show that they’ve got a great care for what the team needs and they’re willing to put themselves on the line for that.
“We had a decent lead at halftime, but it was way too early to pack the tent up and think we were home, so I just said to them (Grant and Hughes), if you can go out and play another 15, 20 minutes and see how it goes we might replace you.
“But then Nick got hurt and we weren’t quite sure how bad he was.”
Grant described his injury as minor and said it didn’t hinder his game, with four try assists and 31 tackles backing up his claim.
“I got a little knock in my calf and then it was a bit tight,” the 26-year-old said,
“We’ve got a longer turnaround so I will just be smart with how I manage it tonight and over the next couple of days but it’ll be good.”
Of greatest concern for the premiership decider against either three-peat champions Penrith or Cronulla is prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
He was sin-binned and put on report after knocking Lindsay Collins out with an alleged high tackle off the kick-off, and will find out on Saturday morning if he if he faces a ban.
Anything more than a grade-one charge would leave Asofa-Solomoa facing at least a three-match ban, and needing a win at the judiciary to play in the decider.
“You’d hate to see him miss a big game,” Bellamy said.
“I didn’t think it was a sin bin. Penalty, I thought it was fair enough, but that’s just me.
“I’ve seen it live and seen one replay, and that was my impression … I didn’t think there was a whole lot in it.”
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