Storm proved on Sunday that sometimes the best offence is good defence.
Melbourne were on the back foot for much of their game against the Knights, forced to make 84 more tackles than their opponents on the back of just 44% of possession.
However the Victorian side was able to dig their heels in to record their third win in a row.
Be at AAMI Park when we take on the Roosters, Saturday 23 July, 7:30pm.
“They had a lot of footy but having said that our defence held us in the game again,” Craig Bellamy said.
“There were a few things defensively we didn’t do so well as what we’ve been doing lately but I thought we were good enough defensively and that is what got us our win.
“Hopefully it was a bit of a blowout for us today and a little bit of a reminder that you need to prepare well and make sure you take that preparation into a game.”
Skipper Cameron Smith added that the performance at Hunter Stadium was in a way symbolic of the team’s ethos.
“We base our game on defence, not on attack. It is about keeping the opposition to a minimal score line,” Smith said.
“I think we were camped down our end most of that first half, I think that is when it was at 60-40 possession. We just kept turning them away. They were able to get one there but we’ve done that pretty much the majority of the season this year.
“At no stage did we panic or get flustered or think that the other team is going to overrun us. We just back our defensive structure to get the job done.”
That was no more evident that in the first try of the game.
With the game being playing almost exclusively at the Knights’ attacking end for the first 10 minutes, a terrific defensive read by Cheyse Blair caused the error that lead to Marika Koroibete’s 85-metre runaway try.
That play by Storm’s left-edge duo generated deserved praised from the skipper after the game.
“I saw the boys make a decision to come in and Cheyse Blair has been doing a wonderful job out on our edge every game he has played for us this year,” Smith said.
“He has been a great find for us out there and is playing really consistent football for us.
“Marika is always on the spot for those balls that are dropped or are on the ground. I backed them to make that decision and (the Knights) made an error on the back of our good defensive read.
“That’s why they practice out there plenty with our back coaches and defensive coaches, I was really happy with that result because we were under the pump at the time.”
Storm will now have a six-day turnaround before taking on the Roosters at AAMI Park this Saturday at 7.30pm.
