Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy says Essendon players need to stick together in the wake of their elimination from the AFL finals campaign.
Essendon’s plight has been compared to the Storm, who were forced to play for no points during the 2010 NRL season and stripped of their 2007 and 2009 titles as punishment for serious salary cap breaches.
The Bombers were this week removed from the looming AFL finals as punishment for their controversial supplements program.
Their coach James Hird was also suspended for a year among a raft of penalties.
They under still under investigation by ASADA.
“Our situation was probably cut and dried while I’m not quite sure their’s is cut and dried,” Bellamy said.
“I don’t particularly want to comment too much on it.”
What advice Bellamy did offer was the club and teammates had to support each other through the trying time.
“Sticking together and supporting each other, that’s the biggest thing.
“Everyone needs to stay on the same track.
“If anyone starts going off and looking after themselves it’s going to hard for them but if they all stick together and support each other they’ll come through OK.”
Bellamy didn’t want to buy into the ongoing ASADA investigation into Cronulla, who are set to play in the NRL finals, saying it was a question for NRL chief executive Dave Smith.
Earlier this week Melbourne centre Will Chambers said that 2010 was soul-destroying for his teammates.
Chambers had a stint in rugby union after their 2009 grand final victory before returning to the club in 2012.
“The boys that you talk to who were around the place, who were here in 2010 say it was the hardest time of their life,” Chambers told SEN radio.
“You play footy every week for September and all of a sudden to have that taken away from you is a very hard thing.
“It can’t get any worse. You were meant to play finals this week and all of a sudden it’s taken away from you. It’s pretty tough.”
Chambers said it took another premiership, in 2012, for the Storm players to heal and that they used the penalties as motivation.
