Melbourne Storm handed reality check in 30-20 loss to South Sydney Rabbitohs

NOTHING halts the Melbourne Storm sideline like inspirational captain Cameron Smith limping off the field. Making matters worse the reigning premier is also well behind on the scoreboard.

Cameron Smith was hurt late in the loss to South Sydney. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)

NOTHING halts the Melbourne Storm sideline like inspirational captain Cameron Smith limping off the field.

Making matters worse the reigning premier is also well behind on the scoreboard.

A rough night at the office, to say the least, Friday night at ANZ Stadium as the Storm relinquished top spot on the NRL ladder.

The sight of Smith being assessed for an ankle complaint whips rabid Bunnies fans into frenzy. And nothing is off limits.

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Cameron Smith was hurt late in the loss to South Sydney. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)

They ride the highs and lows on the sideline just like any other Storm fan would.

The only difference being their vantage point is actually the NRL premier’s sideline - the best seat in the house basically.

Maybe not for watching the game itself unfold but for the spectacle. The sound is deafening, the atmosphere palpable. Searching line breaks, big hits and of course tries attract smiles,

fist pumps and in Jesse Bromwich and Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s case, a fist bump.

It turned quickly though, as loose carries, errors and points conceded mounted.

The look on Storm lock Dale Finucane’s face was telling when the Bunnies scored their critical go-ahead try on Friday night.

The heavyweight clash lived up to its expectations. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)

Seconds earlier the premiership-winner was prowling along the sideline, bouncing and stretching with every stride, as if to send a ‘get me on’ message to the box.

It’s hard not to get caught up in the moment. The only thing busier than Smith and Co here was the walkie talkie linking the coaches up in the box to the bench.

It’s “organised chaos” at the best of times let alone when bitter rivals pile on the points.

If Bellamy calls the shots up there, via mic’d up senior assistant Adam O’Brien, then the sideline belongs to football director Frank Ponissi.

The long-time Bellamy confidant has only missed one game in the past 11 seasons - way back in 2009 when he travelled to South Africa for a few days on a mid-season scouting mission.

He and assistant coach (forwards) Jason Ryles stalk the hectic interchange zone, with eyes peeled for any tactical advantages.

Sam Burgess looks to offload for the Rabbitohs. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

According to them, the ground level is “the worst spot (actually) to watch the game”.

They rely on his allies, development coach and match-day runner Marc Brentnall (blue shirt), trainer Matt Barradeen (orange shirt), and strength coach Dan Di Pasqua (yellow shirt).

The blue shirt does more miles than an Uber driving praying for a fair.

“It’s absolute organized chaos,” Ponissi warned, just before last night’s showdown.

He and others were in the zone last night, almost in “auto-pilot”, for 80 minutes of time in regulation, mainly because it’s so familiar. “It’s routine, we don’t change it,” Ponissi said.

“What we do tonight is no different to what we did in Round 1 or the grand final last year.”

We talk a lot about cohesion on the field, and the same can be said about the Storm sideline.

No room for loitering here, that’s for sure.

It takes about 10 minutes for things to “warm up” and then it bubbles quickly towards a crescendo.

Herald Sun journalist Gilbert Gardner had prime position for the clash. Picture: Brett Costello

The only constant being the barrage of venom spewed by Souths supporters over the fence.

If sledging was the sport itself then Souths, along with Manly and Wests, would go to the line in a three-way bobbing finish.

“We all know what we’re in for,” Ponissi said.

“You can’t be precious because you’re going to cop it.”

Things “heat up” around rotations, some planned others not. Clubs have eight rotations, and ideally you only want to burn three in the first half - mission accomplished on Friday night.

It didn’t take long for the Souths faithful to find their voice on Friday night as the home side surged, and it reached fever pitched when the Bunnies were penalised - ever.

The win puts the Rabbitohs back on top of the table. Picture: Brett Costello

On a day when referee bashing made national headlines, following the revelation the NRL’s best will hang up the whistle at the end of the season, the men in yellow copped a relentless and almighty bake. “Give them another metre, you cheat,” one feral shouted.

Others opted for MA 15+ variations: “get them onside... (insert profanity here).”

And of course it wouldn’t be a Melbourne Storm game without opposition supporters dropping the G-bomb.

“You’re a bunch of grubs, Melbourne,” one Souths fan screeched.

A far cry from the pre-game calm where twelve plastic chairs lined the interchange zone, along with eight tackle bags, four jackets, two stationary bicycles, a bag of practice balls, copious amounts of Powerade, and a Herald Sun sports journalist.

Like claps of thunder the big men crack into one another once the hooter sounds.

Few harder than hulking Storm props Jesse Bromwich and Nelson Asofa-Solomona and their Souths opponents, the Burgess brothers.

The sound is unmistakeable as their granite-like 115kg frames collide. And yet after 80 minutes, gone in a flash, the sideline is vacated in under what feels like 80 seconds as the Storm retreat to the sheds, where preparations have already begun for Next week.

SOUTH SYDNEY 30 (S Burgess D Cook A Doueihi H Hunt A Johnston tries A Reynolds 5 goals) bt MELBOURNE 20 (J Addo-Carr 2 D Finucane C Scott tries C Smith 2 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Jon Stone, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 15,132.