Melbourne Storm legend Cameron Smith analyses ‘concerning’ run of form

Cameron Smith has admitted his concerns over his former club’s recent form, with Melbourne suffering two disappointing defeats in recent weeks.

After being humiliated by the Bulldogs in Round 2, the Premiership heavyweights were defeated again in a scoring affair with the Titans on Saturday afternoon.

For a club built on hard work, defense and discipline, the 38 points the Storm transpired and the number of errors they committed set some alarm bells ringing for head coach Craig Bellamy.

Speaking of SEN radio, Smith lamented his former club’s crucial slip-ups and sees cause for concern if this trend continues.

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“If the team continues to perform like they did at the weekend, that’s worrying – there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“I actually got a chance to go to Cbus Stadium and watch the game live… They took a little bit to get going, it was a hot day and they had drink breaks at the 20 minute mark of both halves.

“You could put your hand up and say, ‘It was a really hot day’ — but that’s no excuse. They just didn’t play well, it’s as simple as that… They were in a position where they were 12 points ahead with just a few minutes left until halftime.

“They have a couple of bad plays where they forced passes or tried to force an offload, made mistakes and the Titans capitalize and score.

“They go into half-time with six minutes and seven minutes after half-time, they’re behind with six minutes – it was an 18-point turnaround in about nine minutes.

“There’s a lot of people going there, what the heck is going on with the storm.”

Melbourne’s poor start to the 2023 season, which likely emerges as Bellamy’s last in the top job, has put the club under scrutiny like never before.

But according to Smith, the current roster being compared to the Storm teams of yesterday is doing them a disservice.

“We’re all busy talking about the storm like it’s the storm of that magical time when there were a lot of wonderful players down there when you’re talking about Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater, Greg Inglis and Ryan Hoffman,” said he .

“All these wonderful players they had were lucky. Now if you look at the Storm, they don’t have that team – we need to start judging this team on their own merits.

“This is a very different Melbourne Storm team now, there is no excuse for them because expectations of this football team are still high.

“When he met Craig after the game over the weekend he was extremely disappointed with the way they played.

“A lot of effort went into that game but there wasn’t a lot of prudence – especially in those pivotal moments when the team had the opportunity to end that game.”

Melbourne will look to bounce back and get their second win of the year when they take on the struggling Wests Tigers in Round 4.