Melbourne are planning to leave most of their stars out of their last-round dead-rubber clash with St George Illawarra to keep them fresh for week one of the NRL finals.
With a top-two place on the competition ladder locked in, coach Craig Bellamy said many Storm players will not make the long trek south from their Sunshine Coast base for Sunday afternoon’s clash at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
He explained the same-day travel and predicted short turnaround for the final was behind his thinking.
Skipper Cameron Smith and five-eighth Cameron Munster, as well as Jesse Bromwich, Josh Addo-Carr and Jahrome Hughes are all set to miss the game, with up to 10 changes from last round.
Kenny Bromwich (concussion) and Suliasi Vunivalu (hamstring) are out while young gun Tino Fa’asuamaleaui – the only Storm player to have featured in every match this season – is battling a calf issue.
Bellamy told SEN radio the timing of their first final at Suncorp Stadium following same-day travel to Sydney was key.
“A lot of the players have played plenty of footy without a doubt, but probably the biggest one is the travel,” he said.
“We’re playing the last game of the round on Sunday afternoon so we think we’re going to get a Saturday game for the final but it still could be a Friday so we could have a five, or at best a six-day turnaround.
“So that’s part of the thinking in trying to be as fresh but also as well prepared as we can be for the final.”