Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy faces a selection dilemma after his three halfback candidates played starring roles to help bring down the NRL pacesetters.
Jahrome Hughes, Ryley Jacks and Brodie Croft have each worn the Storm number seven at various stages this season but all three thrived in Thursday’s 52-30 victory over St George Illawarra.
Jacks filled the five-eighth role with Cameron Munster on representative duty while Croft was a late inclusion at halfback with Hughes shifting to fullback.
With former Queensland captain Cameron Smith steering the ship, Melbourne’s collection of young halves impressed against the Dragons, leaving Bellamy with a tough decision to make ahead of next weekend’s away clash with arch rivals Manly.
Bellamy was full of praise for his young pivots following the 14-try shootout at AAMI Park.
“Jahrome was tremendous, I thought Jacksy did a really good job and when Brodie ran the ball, he was hard to handle,” Bellamy said.
Both Hughes and Jacks found the tryline as the Storm piled on 24 points in the final 15 minutes while Croft’s 21st-minute effort, side-stepping off both feet to blow past defenders on his way to score, was one of the highlights of an even first half.
“You’d like to be able to pick them all next week but we can’t do that, depending on whether (Cameron) Munster plays or not after Origin.”
Bellamy described the high-scoring affair as “a game of cricket” compared to last week’s gritty 9-8 win over the Roosters in Adelaide, with both coaches expressing disappointment with their respective efforts in defence.
The Dragons had strung together three wins in a row during the busy Origin period but couldn’t contain the Storm in the final 15 minutes.
Already missing four New South Wales forwards, their cause wasn’t helped with 21-year-old backrower Jacob Host dislocating his shoulder in the fifth minute.
James Graham also left the field for a head injury assessment in the 60th minute and did not return.
But coach Paul McGregor was not prepared to reach for excuses for the Dragon’s late fadeout.
“These blokes have been preparing and waiting for that opportunity for a long time,” McGregor said.
“That’s when everyone needs to be able to be a little bit better and we weren’t,” McGregor said.
St George Illawarra started the night in top spot but the 22-point defeat will allow South Sydney (bye) to move ahead of them on percentage with the Storm also breathing down their neck in third.
