Why Penrith Panthers are perfect inspiration for battling Melbourne Storm
Updated ,first published
St George Illawarra center Valentine Holmes admits he has “no excuse” for his shock display against Latrell Mitchell and must repay coach Dean Young for his faith in not being dropped.
Holmes is the Dragons’ highest-paid player but was unable to pay his salary during the Dragons’ 12-game losing streak that lasted until last year. The low point was on the wrong end of a clinic two weeks ago against South Sydney’s three-quarters Mitchell, who had four tries against him.
Interim coach Young opted not to ax Holmes in his first game in charge, a clash with the Roosters. Although the individual performance of the Maroons and Kangaroos representatives was slightly better than the previous week, it mattered little after the tricolors achieved a record score of 62-16 on Anzac Day at the Allianz Stadium.
The form of senior players Clint Gutherson, Damien Cook and Holmes was put under the microscope in a barren stretch that cost coach Shane Flanagan his job. Flanagan’s last game in charge was the defeat to the Rabbitohs, which was the worst performance of Holmes’ career.
“There’s no excuse for the way I play [that night]’ said Holmes.
“It was so bad, honestly I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to redeem myself as much as I could [against the Roosters]. I was back on the left side, which was good, I got a chance to play outside young Reedy. [debutant halfback Kade Reed] additionally.
“This was not the performance I wanted him and our team to show for him. I can’t say I’m proud of that performance myself.” [against the Roosters] Because that’s how we lost. They still scored from our side, they scored from both sides. We were pretty poor everywhere in the park.
Holmes has not shied away from criticism of his recent form, which saw him miss 10 times against the Rabbitohs.
“I’m not perfect in terms of performance,” he said.
“I never play as perfect football as I would like to every week, I have had very poor performances in my past. Luckily I have been playing for over 10 years…
“We tried to stand up” [Roosters] game. We clearly know what Anzacs mean to us in Australia and New Zealand and what women and men have done to ensure we are here. “At the end of the day, we didn’t perform well, we didn’t play with pride in ourselves, our teammates and our family.”
‘Let’s hope history repeats itself’: Why the Panthers are the perfect inspiration for fighting the Storm
Christian Nicolussi
Melbourne chairman Matt Tripp said the Storm were “a proud club that will stick together”. And they only have to look back 12 months for inspiration to bounce back from their fearsome start to the season.
“It was probably the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever experienced in my football life,” Storm coach Craig Bellamy said after the match. We lost 48-6 to South Sydney on Saturday night.
It was the club’s heaviest defeat at AAMI Park, leaving them with just two wins from their first eight matches.
To make matters worse, halfback Jahrome Hughes failed HIA and will miss Friday’s game against the Dolphins.
However, to put Melbourne’s start to the year into perspective Panthers went 2-6 last season They revived and made it through to the preliminary final, where they narrowly lost to eventual winners Brisbane.
“Let’s hope history repeats itself, but it’s not going to happen by just hoping,” Tripp said.
“We can be encouraged by what Penrith has done but there is a lot of hard work ahead of us if we want to follow the same route.
“I’ll be honest with you, there are reasons to be concerned because we are playing well below our best.
“We are training well, they are training really well and there is great enthusiasm in training, but this is not reflected on the field.
“This disconnect between what we do in training and match day is worrying.
“That’s the part that frustrates everyone – not just the players, but the whole club. Everybody needs to get into it.
“Good clubs stay together. We pride ourselves on being a good club, an inclusive club, that’s why we’re all in this together. We’re going to dig our way out of this and the only way to dig our way out of anything is through hard work. “The good thing is it doesn’t let anyone’s head down.
“It’s not a case of going to ground zero, pulling everything back and starting over. “Unlike Saturday’s score, we’re not a million miles away.
“The squad we have is capable of winning many matches and playing final football. But it is not showing that at the moment.”
TV cameras captured Bellamy throwing his arms in the air during halftime and then running out of the locker room.
Bellamy has only missed September once during his time at the club, he is regarded as one of the best coaches of all time and Tripp has said that no extra staff will be brought in to assist him for that reason alone.
“Plus, there’s already a great support staff there; there’s no panic from that standpoint,” Tripp said.
“Craig’s assistants are all first-class coaches. [Queensland Origin coach] Billy Slater is also there as an assistant. We have plenty of football knowledge to get us through.”
Tyran Wishart is expected to step into the halves for Hughes, while Origin winger Xavier Coates is expected to return from his Achilles injury in the coming weeks.
Souths had never won in their previous 20 games in the Victorian capital; Latrell Mitchell was again at his physical best while Tallis Duncan scored three tries and did his best to get under the control of Queensland captain Cameron Munster.
