COMMENT: Melbourne Storm ‘grubbery’ finally comes back to bite them

The Melbourne Storm are licking their wounds after another tough grand final loss, but they only have themselves to blame for falling short.

COMMENT

Lindsay Collins’ brain wasn’t the first to be bashed like a tambourine by Nelson Asofa-Solomona, and it certainly won’t be the last.

But the Storm enforcer’s jarring high shot on his Chook opponent in last weekend’s preliminary final has cost his club dearly — and it’ll leave a stench over his career forever more.

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Melbourne were enormously brave in their 14-6 loss to the Panthers in Sunday’s grand final, but you can’t escape the fact they were squibbish up the middle without their standover man.

With plenty of youth and big game inexperience in the Storm pack, any chance of success was contingent on Asofa-Solomona leading the way and staunching the middle.

And with nightmarish props James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota in opposition, it was equally pivotal he was on-hand to counter-strike fear in to the Panthers pantaloons.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona was sorely missed in the grand final. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

His hit on Lindsay Collins proved costly.

But while Josh King and Christian Welch did their utmost in tandem with Elise Katoa and Shawn Blore pinch-hitting from the edges, the Storm hardman and his psycho biceps were sorely missed.

And in a war of attrition where inches were as hard to come by as points, his absence inarguably swung the game in Penrith’s favour and cost Melbourne the title.

Yes, rugby league is a team game and grand finals are won on moments, but there is no substitute for an unstable thicket of prime beef like Asofa-Solomona.

Even in the land of the giants in the middle third, he is a monster truck among micro machines big enough to have his own airport.

More importantly, the bloke hits like a semi-trailer and scares us all with those crazy kinda eyes like a stunned groper.

In short, the Storm needed him. Badly.

That’s why once the judiciary upheld the Match Review Panel’s decision on Tuesday night to suspend the Kiwi international, everyone knew they were stuffed.

Moses Leota and Penrith’s forwards dominated, particularly in the second half. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

James Fisher-Harris leaves the Panthers as a four-time champ. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Asofa-Solomona’s absence was painfully evident on the stats sheet, with Penrith severely outgunning the Storm in yardage to the tune of 2255 run metres to 1884, a fact not lost on Craig Bellamy.

“We did miss him … I’d be lying if I said we didn’t,” the coach lamented.

“We were struggling to make metres early and that’s one of his real strengths so we certainly missed him.”

Everyone knows Asofa-Solomona is an imposing beast that straddles the line between leaving his opponents in fear or an MRI machine.

NAS consoles a dejected Xavier Coates after the grand final loss. Picture: NRL photos

But while everyone treasures a guy who plays on the edge, it’s a pain in the butt when it comes to finals time and you’ve gotta have Nick Ghabar and a range of other judiciary counsel on speed dial.

Nevertheless, despite spending his fair share of time on the sidelines for various grubbery, Asofa-Solomona’s current suspension is the one that has cost his team most dearly.

Grand finals don’t come along every day - even for the Storm - especially legacy-shaping opportunities like Sunday night’s.

Hence why the ‘what if’ after the squeaky loss will suffocate his thoughts as tightly as the comically small hire car that transported him to Tuesday night’s judiciary hearing.

— Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Originally published as COMMENT: Melbourne Storm ‘grubbery’ finally comes back to bite them