Storm to rest on laurels, Broncos star back after long layoff

Storm to rest side

While the rest of this page will be about who is coming back from injury this week, we have to start with players who will not be on the pitch in Round 26. Earlier this week, Melbourne Storm head coach Craig Bellamy revealed his plans to rest 11 of his best players against the Cowboys in Townsville on Thursday.

Jahrome Hughes, Harry Grant, Will Warbrick, Jack Howarth, Nick Meaney, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Josh King, Shawn Blore, Eli Katoa, Trent Loiero, and Tui Kamikamica have all been ruled out. Cameron Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen, who both missed a lot of time with injury this season, are the only first-team stars who will feature on Thursday.

Because of this mass rotation, the betting sites have made the Cowboys big favourites to win. As far as the Storm are concerned though, the sports betting odds do not matter.

Melbourne clinched the minor premiership last week and are clearly not worried about winning their final two matches of the season. If there was any doubt about this, Storm head coach Bellamy erased those doubts this week while talking to the media about the upcoming Cowboys match.

The NRL veteran was asked about whether he was “ripping off” Cowboys fans in Townsville, Bellamy said he did not care about the optics of his decision.

“I can understand people being critical of it (resting players), but at the end of the day, that’s what we think is going to work best for us,” he explained.

“It’s not my job to rip anyone off and it’s not my job to control who comes to the game and who doesn’t.

“My job or our job is – I don’t make this on my own you know, these decisions I get some advice and opinions, but we think this is best for our club this time of year.”

Other NRL injury news

While the Storm are keeping their stars off the pitch, the Sharks and the Broncos are expected to get two of their best players back this week.

Cronulla star Nicho Hynes is expected to make his return after suffering a serious leg injury during training ahead of Round 18. The fullback’s return could not have come at a better time as the Sharks fight to secure a top four spot.

Broncos, meanwhile, will be getting back star prop Payne Haas. The 24-year-old has missed the last few weeks with a foot injury. He could immediately play a key role for Brisbane this week as the Broncos take on their rivals Dolphins at the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

While the Broncos will have Haas back for the derby, Dolphins’ Kodi Nikorima and Jesse Bromwich are expected to miss the match.