Battered Melbourne Storm’s depth stretched to the limit following Origin injuries

MELBOURNE officials are resigned to approaching the NRL for second tier salary cap grace, following unprecedented carnage to their roster.

MELBOURNE officials are resigned to approaching the NRL for second tier salary cap grace, following unprecedented carnage that’s peaked with injuries to star trio Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk in Wednesday night’s Origin bust-up.

Already missing eight players to either injury or suspension, the ravaged Storm on Thursday sent a squad of 21 players to Townsville for Saturday night’s clash against North Queensland.

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Billy Slater gets treatment.

With Melbourne now bereft of halves and hookers, the encounter could well shape as an awful indictment of the NRL’s insistence of continuing the competition proper through Origin.

The unlikely Kiwi combination of Ben Roberts and Tohu Harris is tipped to steer the Storm’s attack, which was already sorely tested for depth without back-up playmakers Ben Hampton (suspension), Joel Romelo (ankle), Cody Walker (hamstring), and Slade Griffin (knee).

Worse still, Cronk’s absence for up to 12 weeks with a broken arm means Melbourne will have to persevere with an untested halves pairing until the eve of the finals.

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Cooper Cronk injured on the sideline.

Bookmaker Sportsbet.com yesterday responded by lengthening Melbourne’s premiership price from $10 to $13, while their odds of toppling the Cowboys have blown out from $2.05 to $5.25.

Captain Smith is set to miss up to two weeks with an ankle sprain, while Slater won’t return until after Origin II after suffering a tear to his AC joint.

Smith’s absence means bench utility Ryan Hynchcliffe will be forced to play 80 minutes at hooker, while Fijian International Sisa Waqa could be moved to fullback to replace Slater.

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Billy Slater hurt after full time siren.

The catastrophic sequence of setbacks is also likely to reopen the debate about clubs being compensated for the loss of stars during Origin, particularly as Melbourne is now owned by a consortium of private businessmen.

Storm football manager Frank Ponissi was on Thursday more intent on discussing short-term survival than long-term policy changes, but did concede his club was already “at the very limit” of its $440,000 second tier salary cap.

Should the limit be breached over the final 14 matches, Melbourne will be unable to bring any more reinforcements from outside their top 25 into first grade.

Cameron Smith injured during game 1 of the 2014 Origin series.

“We are right at the very limit now, but if we get one or two more injuries this week we will have to speak with the NRL,” Ponissi said.

“It’s really a matter of getting through the next two or three weeks, until we start getting some more players back.

“Over the years we’ve had a fairly good run with injury to our top players in Origin, but it’s happened all at once on Wednesday night.”

The Storm don’t have another bye until Round 17 — the weekend prior to Origin III. The torrid period pits them against the Cowboys, Roosters, Titans, Eels and Dragons, with three of those encounters away from home.