‘People thought we couldn’t win one without them’: Storm motivated to win title without ‘Big Three’

Melbourne players have spoken openly about embracing the challenge of winning their first premiership under coach Craig Bellamy without a single member of the so-called “Big Three”.

Bellamy has the enviable record of guiding the Storm to 11 grand finals in 23 seasons. They have won six of those deciders, although the 2007 and 2009 titles were later stripped due to salary cap breaches.

Bellamy aside, the common denominator in each was the presence of at least one member of the Big Three: Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk.

Smith was the sole member of the famous trio during their last triumph, a win over Penrith in the 2020 grand final. The closest they have gone since their departure was last year, only to just fall short against four-time premiers Penrith.

The Storm again boast a spine full of superstars in Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes, Harry Grant and Ryan Papenhuyzen, who are keen to prove they can go all the way without their famous forerunners.

“I was fortunate enough to have the ‘Big Three’ that pretty much carried me for those two premierships that we won,” Munster said of his 2017 and 2020 championships during the NRL’s fan fest at Circular Quay on Thursday.

“To be able to lead this group with Jarome, Harry and a couple of other leaders in our group, to be able to go through that stage with the big three and hopefully win our own one would be really nice.

“Like the boys said before, we’ve got to get the preparation right, get the week right, build for Sunday. It’s not going to be perfect, but hopefully on Sunday it is.”

Asked about winning without Smith, Slater and Cronk, Hughes added: “I think just winning one is enough for us.

“That’s what everyone goes out every year to do. The big thing is a lot of people thought we couldn’t win one without them, so it’s a little bit of a driving factor there.

“We have a new group every year and our sole goal is to win a premiership. I think we’ve got a great group this year, we’re really connected, really hard working and really keen.

“Hopefully we can do something special.”

Bellamy said he was grateful to have great key-position players when asked how his current big three compared to the originals.

“I don’t think there’s a whole heap of difference,” Bellamy said. “They obviously play in the same positions, but they have different strengths and different shortcomings.

“We try to improve the shortcomings and focus on their strengths as well. I’ve got to say these guys still don’t have the experience of the big three – they played for a long time and a long time together.

“You’d like to think there’s improvement in our spine. Like I say, they all have strengths and things they need to improve.”

The fan fest brought both teams face to face ahead of the Storm-Broncos grand final at Accor Stadium on Sunday. One of the talking points was the inflammatory remarks from the usually mild-mannered Melbourne prop Stefano Utoikamanu, who kicked off grand final week by labelling his opponents as “stuck up”.

It’s provided days of content, but Bellamy wasn’t giving it any more oxygen.

“I didn’t actually hear it, but I heard about it,” the Storm coach said. “I was surprised. I’ll leave it at that.”

Broncos coach Michael Maguire will come up against Bellamy, the pair being teammates from their playing days in Canberra. Maguire went on to be an assistant to Bellamy for five seasons.

“That’s the reason why the teams are here, across the board they have quality players, all 17 of them,” Maguire said. “I know our players want to play and do their part for each other. [If they do that], I’ll be a happy coach.”

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