Storm coach Craig Bellamy says the club hasn’t decided when they’ll rest their star players, with the ladder leaders bracing for two long trips to Queensland to finish the regular season, including a five-day turnaround to play in Townsville next week.
Melbourne will officially secure a top-two finish if they beat the Dolphins this weekend, with the Storm set to win a fifth minor premiership in nine seasons if they win two of their remaining three matches.
Bellamy resisted the urge to rest anyone for their final home game of the season on Saturday night, but that will likely change next week when they head to Townsville on a short turnaround.
A taxing trip to the tropics is something they might want to avoid, with the stars likely to return for the final round against the Broncos having rested most of their big guns 12 months earlier and getting the job done at Suncorp Stadium on a night Sua Fa’alogo made his debut.
“We’ll make decisions on different things based on where we are on the table and whether we can improve that or not,” Bellamy said.
“But also it’s on how we think the players are feeling and the guys that haven’t played a lot of footy this year, plus we’ve got some travel as well which is a pretty tough ask to finish up having four of our last five (games) away and having our longest trip on a five-day turnaround and then having to go back to Brisbane.
“We’ll do what we think is right for us and the individuals, and then we’ll go from there.”
The Storm is coming off one of their best wins of the year last week in Penrith, with the spine gelling in attack after a disrupted year in which stars Cameron Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen missed a combined 16 games.
It’s why Bellamy will want to play them in round 27 to make sure they are firing heading into the finals.
“We’ll decide who gets a rest and who doesn’t get a rest on their merit,” the veteran coach said.
“Our spine hasn’t played a whole heap together this year. Ideally, we’d like to have the last three weeks where they’re together and playing and getting a little bit more used to each other.
“If we think that’s more important than resting them, then we’ll do that.”
What happens in the coming weeks will depend on how they perform against the Dolphins as the Storm looks to cap off a big week in which former superstars were inducted into the Hall of Fame, while current players Cameron Munster, Christian Welch and Nelson Asofa-Solomona were made life members at the club.
It’ll be extra special for the 200cm Asofa-Solomona on Saturday, with the man mountain to play his 200th game for the club in what’s been an eventful career in Melbourne.
“He’s unusual in how big he is. That’s probably where it starts,” Bellamy said.
“There have been a few ups and downs in those years, but he probably came here when he was 17 and played in our junior rep teams.
“He’s been a wonderful addition to our club not only as a player but as a person.
“What he brings on the field is something quite different to most other players, so we’re glad that we saw him and got him early because he’s had a successful time here.
“I think in the past two or three weeks that he’s had his best games of the year, so we need to make sure that we manage his time properly.”