{"id":366302,"date":"2024-02-08T18:14:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T19:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=366302"},"modified":"2024-02-08T20:03:38","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T20:03:38","slug":"new-skippers-tough-ask-after-major-disappointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=366302","title":{"rendered":"New skipper's 'tough ask' after 'major disappointment'"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Melbourne Storm<\/a> clearly missed star forward Brandon Smith<\/a> when he defected to the Roosters<\/a> last season, but no player missed him more than fellow hooker Harry Grant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Having provided the NRL's best one-two punch out of dummy-half in previous years, Grant was still a force without Smith, but he just wasn't quite as effective.<\/p>\n

The nippy hooker's metres per game were down on 2022, as were his try assists. His errors rose from 16 to a career high 28.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Roosters rocked as star's code switch confirmed<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> 'Insane' age gap created by teen's Opals call-up<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Tigers recruit reveals toughest part of club switch<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Harry<\/p>\n

In the 38-4 loss to Penrith that ended the Storm's 2023 season, Grant made just two runs for four post-contact metres \u2013 a major disappointment for one of the most dangerous dummy-halves in the league.<\/p>\n

Clearly, the challenge for Grant this campaign is to raise the bar and get back to where he was at his peak.<\/p>\n

Considering how well Grant and Smith worked together, that will be a tough ask. But Harry has the class to pull it off.<\/p>\n

The Storm roster has a formidable look coming into 2024, and they haven't lost any of their big-name stars \u2013 a rarity in previous seasons.<\/p>\n

\"Grant<\/p>\n

If Ryan Papenhuyzen can have an injury-free run and regain his best form, the Storm will be looking in good for a top four finish.<\/p>\n

Former Tiger Shawn Blore, the one new signing, is a typical Craig Bellamy player.<\/p>\n

He looked good in patches at the Tigers, so chances are he will be great with the Purple People under the one and only Craig Bellamy.<\/p>\n

Watch the All Stars clash on Friday February 16 \ufefflive and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

One last Bellyache<\/h2>\n

Speaking of Craig Bellamy, odds are 2024 will be the final year of his remarkable reign at the Storm.<\/p>\n

That alone should strike fear into the hearts of the 16 rival coaches.<\/p>\n

Bellamy has set the benchmark since taking over the Storm in 2003, when he began the transformation of the the club into the most successful franchise in the NRL.<\/p>\n

The Panthers may have their three-peat, but the Storm have been a model of excellence for two decades.<\/p>\n

THE MOLE SEASON PREVIEWS:<\/strong> Bulldogs<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Cowboys<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Dolphins<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Dragons<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Eels<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Knights<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Warriors<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Rabbitohs<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Raiders<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Roosters<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Sea Eagles<\/strong><\/a> | \ufeff<\/strong>Sharks<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Tigers<\/strong><\/a> |<\/strong> Titans<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Storm players are certain to be highly motivated to send out their popular, if somewhat feisty, coach on the highest of highs.<\/p>\n

In 20 years, Bellamy has never had a losing season, despite some setbacks and controversies along the way.<\/p>\n

He has turned good players into much better players and the Storm can never be written off in premiership betting at the start of a season under his watch.<\/p>\n

Just how the Storm replaces Bellamy is a question the club will dread facing in coming months as the clock ticks towards 2025 and a new era for the club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Melbourne Storm clearly missed star forward Brandon Smith when he defected to the Roosters last season, but no player missed him more than fellow […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":366306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366302"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=366302"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":366310,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366302\/revisions\/366310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/366306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=366302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=366302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=366302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}