NRL 2022: Storm coach Craig Bellamy wants Nelson Asofa-Solomona to keep bringing his hard edge to games

Nelson Asofa-Solomona has been in the spotlight after another NRL judiciary fine, but his coach doesn’t want the Storm hard man to change his ways.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy has defended big man Nelson Asofa-Solomona. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has launched a staunch defence of under-fire big man Nelson Asofa-Solomona, declaring he’s got no intention of asking him to change his hard-tackling ways.

Asofa-Solomona’s disciplinary record has been the target of critics after he was hit with a fifth charge from the NRL judiciary this season for an elbow on young Roosters star Joseph Suaalii in last week’s fiery clash at AAMI Park.

But the hulking prop is yet to be suspended and on Wednesday Bellamy, who said he wanted Asofa-Solomona to continue to “play his footy”, hoped the extra focus on his man this week wouldn’t rub off on the referees.

Bellamy also pointed out there was a four-week suspension dished out to Roosters forward Lindsay Collins for a hip-drop tackle, which resulted in a season-ending ankle injury for Storm’s Tom Eisenhuth, and “we’re not talking about him”.

“We’re talking about Nelson instead,” Bellamy said.

“We want Nelson to play his footy, how he plays when he plays well and that’s what we need him to continue with.

“He hasn’t been suspended, he’s been fined. A lot of other guys have been fined. There was a guy that got four weeks in last week’s game, we’re not talking about him.

Melbourne’s Nelson Asofa-Solomona has come under fire for his aggressive approach. Picture: Supplied

“The committee that puts the charges out, they haven’t seen it as that severe I suppose that they would give (Asofa-Solomona) weeks. If they thought it was serious enough, they would have suspended him.”

Bellamy said “it might” when asked if the spotlight on Asofa-Solomona could result in hard treatment from the referees in Thursday’s finals-shaping clash with Parramatta.

“It might, I hope not. I won’t be able to tell you that until after the game,” he said.

The reward for the winner of the final-round clash at CommBank Stadium is a spot in the top four and double chance in the NRL finals.

Bellamy, and his players, are well aware of what’s at stake, with the Storm coach adamant the effort in the final 60 minutes of last week’s 18-14 loss was the sort of performance that could get his team over the line.

“There’s a bit riding on it, but at the same time it’s not like you are going to miss the finals,” he said.

“But it’s a big difference between fourth and fifth.

Asofa-Solomona has been put on report multiple times in 2022. Picture: NRL photos

“We don’t want to be putting all of our coins in the one basket, we have to make sure we continue our effort from last week in the last 60 minutes and hope we can do it for 80.”

Storm has won just one of their past five clashes against the Eels, including a heart-stopping golden point loss in round 3.

Bellamy said Parramatta presents a defensive headache that his team would need to overcome, with the speed of Eels playmaker Mitch Moses another challenge.

“We’re aware of what he’s doing and what he’s capable of doing. He’s capable of doing a lot of good things,” he said.

“He’s getting himself more involved than he has in the past and his speed is the thing that could worry you.

“They move the ball around a lot and they move the ball after off-loading. It’s like they play to off-load to be honest.

“That’s hard to handle. It’s hard to handle for long periods of time in games. It is hard to defend.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Storm coach Craig Bellamy wants Nelson Asofa-Solomona to keep bringing his hard edge to games