Melbourne NRL coach Craig Bellamy says this weekend’s game is going to be huge, but he’s not talking about the Storm’s last-round clash with Gold Coast at AAMI Park on Saturday.
Bellamy’s fourth-placed Storm could climb to third depending on results this weekend and ninth-placed Gold Coast will make one last attempt to qualify in the top eight.
But for Bellamy the top-of-the-table clash between South Sydney and Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium on Friday night will be a cracker.
“There’s a still a couple of spots in the eight up for grabs so that adds a bit of excitement,” Bellamy told reporters on Wednesday.
“The big one is the one on Friday night, the Roosters and Souths. We’re all looking forward to that.
“Those two are are main rivals but also there’s a pretty decent prize at the end of it, the minor premiership. That’s a great accolade for any club to win, a minor premiership.
“There’s some ex-players from here that are playing with Souths so we always like to see those guys do well.
“I’m not a bookmaker but I’d imagine after what’s happened in the last three or four weeks you’d probably say Souths would be the favourites.
“They’re in a little bit better form. They just seem to have a little bit more momentum.
“The Roosters will be up there. They’ve had a wonderful season but their momentum has been slowed by their last two efforts.”
Bellamy said Gold Coast showed plenty of grit and fully deserved their 30-22 win over the Roosters last weekend.
“A lot of things went against them (Gold Coast) and they hung in there really well,” he said.
“But the Roosters had a lot of opportunities which they blew. Perhaps a lot of the Roosters’ minds might have been on Friday night and that’s easy to do.
“I’d imagine Souths early in their game against Wests Tigers (which Souths won 32-18 after trailing 18-0), their mindset was probably on this Friday.
“It’s a huge game. I’d imagine on the weekend both those sides are going to up a lot more than what they were last weekend because of what this game means.
“There’s a big reward at the end of it.”