Prop Josh King admitted the unspoken sentiment that permeated the Storm following their grand final defeat to the Broncos – this hurt a lot more than last year.
Craig Bellamy and his players faced the impossible task of making sense of the 26-22 loss to the Broncos on Sunday night.
Last year, the narrative was much clearer. The Storm fell to a Panthers machine - but they would be back next year. They would get their redemption. They would work hard. They would do what they needed to do.
Any attempt at the same fighting words this year felt hollow in the face of a second consecutive defeat.
“I’m pretty devastated in this moment. It hurts a lot more than last year,” King told NRL.com.
“Not only is it two losses two years in a row, but we were riding that game up to our necks and obviously had the lead at half-time.
“They’ve got a lot of star players in that side, and what they've been doing it for a while now is pulling things out when it matters. They were able to do it again.
Grant: It's about what's next now
“For us, yeah, it’s really disappointing.”
Players spoke in the lead-up to the match about the lessons that they took from last year, with several including centre Nick Meaney and back-rower Shawn Blore expressing that they felt more ready this time around.
“There was a couple of things we thought we learned from last year, but obviously we didn’t,” Bellamy said during the post-match press conference.
King struggled to reconcile the disconnect between what they thought they had learned, and the result.
Jahrome Hughes Try
“I feel like it was a really big learning experience for us last year, and we got back to the grand final,” he said.
“To lose again – I don't really know. At this point, the wounds are still very open and raw. At the moment, it’s pretty upsetting.”
So, where to now?
Players and coach fell back to the only thing they could say – they would, once again, rip in over summer and be the best they can be come Round 1, 2026.
“It’s depending on all the people in the club, the staff and the players, and how hard they want to work next year,” Bellamy said.
“Starting the pre-season, if you don't want to work hard – well, we won't be back here next year. If you want to put the work in – well, we'll be a chance.”
A downcast skipper Harry Grant echoed his coach’s sentiment.
“We don't need to be in a rush to get back here. We can't get back here tomorrow, but what we do tomorrow can certainly help,” he said.
“It’s painful to listen to [the Broncos celebrations], but it’s about what’s next now.”
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King did his best to offer some future perspective.
“You get beaten or you get better - that's we've got to use now,” he said.
“We’ve got a couple of weeks to really let it sink in and let those wounds heal a little bit. Then come November, December, we've got to hit the ground running again.
“We've got to come back with a little bit of fire in our bellies again next year and hopefully come back all the way here.”
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The mood in the rooms was understandably grim. You got the sense that the media conference may have been one of the hardest tasks of Grant’s life, let alone career, as he and his team ran over every possible turning point in their heads.
King, though, afforded himself a wistful chuckle as he looked to the sky to finish the interview.
“Third time lucky, hey? Let’s see what happens.”
