Storm not panicking, despite mounting errors, losses
Melbourne Storm prop Tim Glasby says the reigning premiers aren’t panicking despite their early season struggles.
The Storm face bogey side Newcastle Knights at AAMI Park on Friday night as they try to arrest a 2-3 start.
Tim Glasby tackles Ben Hampton of the Cowboys.
Photo: AAPUnforced errors and a low completion rate have dogged the Storm in their three losses while the Knights have long been a tough side for the Storm to beat no matter how well they play.
Glasby said ninth-placed Storm had time to bounce back, as many sides have yet to hit their stride.
“We have very high standards at the Storm so if we lose one game the morale drops a bit,” Glasby said.
“I don’t think it’s panic stations yet, I don’t think anyone is panicking yet.
“We know what is going wrong with our game, which is really good, some teams are losing games and they don’t know what is going wrong so we can pinpoint a spot to work on and that’s a positive.”
It was always going to be a tough start for the Storm as they adjust to the departure of premiership winners Cooper Cronk, Tohu Harris, Jordan McLean and Slade Griffin.
Cronk’s absence has been pointed to as a reason for the Storm’s attacking struggles but it’s fair to note even a superstar halfback like Cronk couldn’t stop the kind of handling errors which the Storm have been guilty of.
New halfback Brodie Croft is in his first season as the starting playmaker and Glasby said the errors were hampering much of their attacking play.
“I don’t think Brodie has made all the mistakes in these past few weeks, we have all stuffed up a few times and we are not helping him too much,” Glasby said.
The Storm lead the NRL in errors with 74 and handling errors with 29 but Glasby also pointed out that defensively the side have only conceded four tries in their three losses, even with their defence under siege in those games.
“Our effort and our defence have been fantastic so we have some positives to take and some things to work on,” Glasby said.
The Storm will be without at least two other premiership winners this game with Will Chambers suspended for another week and Dale Finucane facing four to five weeks on the sidelines after fracturing his thumb.
Take away the errors and the Storm know they can still beat anyone in the NRL. Glasby has backed his side to find the solutions against the Knights who are in good form after knocking over Brisbane Broncos last round.
Griffin is now starting hooker for the Knights but will be warmly welcomed back to AAMI Park having been a much-loved player who battled back from serious injuries to be a part of last year’s premiership.
Whatever happens on Friday night, Glasby said those writing off the Storm were getting ahead of themselves.
“That’s a big call to make in round five,” Glasby said.
The Storm host the Knights at AAMI Park on Friday at 6pm.