The Melbourne Storm finished up the 2020 NRL season with the premiership. Now, they’re preparing to retain it without their captain in 2021.
2020 Wrap
Classic, Melbourne Storm.
Craig Bellamy ensured his side picked up their early-season wins before planting themselves at 2nd on the NRL ladder after Round 10. From there, only an incredible Penrith Panthers winning streak kept the Storm from picking up yet another Minor Premiership. Few in Melbourne will be worried about that, though. Not with the Provan-Summons Trophy sitting in the cabinet after comfortably handling the Panthers in the 2020 NRL Grand Final.
The ageless Cameron Smith dominated from dummy half all year. His work around the ruck created opportunities for Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui close to the line while his game management all the way up the field allowed typically more ad-lib players in Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Ryan Papenhuyzen to do what they do best.
Brenko Lee and Christian Welch played out career seasons with both featuring in Queensland’s miraculous State of Origin upset. Brandon Smith excelled in his utility role while Melbourne’s next-man-up approach thrived in the form of Chris Lewis, Darryn Schonig and Nicho Hynes.
The Storm always find a way to put all of the pieces together in a way that has them competing all year long, and 2020 was no different. Despite losing Cameron Smith, it doesn’t look as though 2021 will be any different either.
Predicted Profile
What will the Melbourne Storm look like and how will they play? We take a stab at profiling their playing style ahead of Round 1.
According to Rugby League Eye Test, only two teams finished the 2020 NRL season with more than 5% of their total runs coming from dummy half.
Melbourne Storm and Wests Tigers.
Now, that Tigers hooker returns home to, more than likely, ensure the Storm continue to be a running threat out of dummy half while dummy-half running numbers decline across the rest of the NRL.
To replace the greatest of all time with Harry Grant (arguably the best hooker in the NRL and already a Queensland representative) is a testament to Melbourne’s scouting, recruitment and retention. It also allows them to continue playing much of the same way in the wake of Smith’s departure.
Shifting the ball through the middle and out to the edges early in sets will remain a common feature of Melbourne’s play with the ball. Christian Welch, Dale Finucane, Kenny and Jesse Bromwich, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Brandon Smith’s key role is still to get the team up the field. However, their growth as ball-players presents opportunities on the edges. Josh Addo-Carr receiving the ball early as a centre in his own half and targeting the three-in defender is one approach Melbourne adopted last season (which Wests later used with David Nofoaluma) that looks set to continue in 2021.
One area we may see further improvement is down short sides. Grant is a superior runner to Smith out of dummy half and engages markers with a similar level of scrutiny. With Munster and Hughes both strong ball-runners and Papenhuyzen frequently popping up in the right place at the right time, the short side one area Melbourne may look towards more often in 2021 given the personnel changes.
There are no if, but’s or maybe’s about their overall attack, though. Like last season (27.2 ppg) Melbourne will be towards the top of the pile in scoring.
2021 NRL Notepad
Jason Oliver cracks open his notepad to find a key player, style or stat to keep an eye on this season.
Jahrome Hughes
Having recently signed on to stay with the Storm until the end of 2024, it’s going to be interesting to see how Jahrome Hughes adjusts to life without Cameron Smith.
Hughes is considered one of the best halves in the NRL right now. Deservedly so, too. He finished up 2020 with seven tries and 15 try assists while playing a leading role in Melbourne’s premiership season.
But he no longer has Smith directing the side from dummy half. While Grant is the best possible replacement for Smith, Hughes will no doubt need to take on more of the traditional halfback duties moving forward. It’s not something he has needed to do very often throughout his career.
http://gty.im/1282106181He has still only played 29 games at the position and it was only Round 24 in 2019 that he became Craig Bellamy’s first-choice #7. Hughes is still relatively new to the position in the grand scheme of things.
There is no doubting his ability with the ball in hand. He regularly broke down the defensive line with his feet and is Cooper Cronk-like in his support play. Hughes’ 15 try assists put him alongside Smith and Papenhuyzen for =10th in the NRL too.
It may take a few weeks to carve out his new role. Munster is also likely to pick up some of the slack, having also benefited from Smith’s genius at dummy half over the years. But Hughes is the one to keep an eye on. If he can adjust well and continue to dominate in what looks to be a slightly different role, there is no reason the Storm can’t lose the best player ever to lace up the boots and still win the premiership.
“Heads In” 2021
Oscar Pannifex unpacks a scrum of three key questions ahead of the 2021 NRL season.
Centre-Field Scrum – What’s centre-frame in the Rugby League lens this season?
I really couldn’t write about anything else in this segment.
How Craig Bellamy and the Storm will replace arguably the greatest player in the history of our game is the question all rugby league fans are asking in 2021, not just those based in Melbourne.
Cameron Smith is gone, and his absence is going to be felt.
But if you could choose any hooker from the 2020 season to replace him with, it’d probably be Harry Grant.
Grant’s meteoric rise to elite-tier dummy-half status last season saw him earn State of Origin representative honours for Queensland, despite playing in a side that finished 11th in the competition. His running game was a constant threat around the ruck, and with the likes of Jesse Bromwich and Nelson Asofa-Solomona running off his hip in 2021, we should see this facet of Grants’ game develop tenfold.
Grant also has excellent vision for a rookie, and a slick passing game to match. Take this passage for the Tigers early last season which highlights the control and precision of Grant’s work from dummy-half:
Off a penalty, the Tigers shift two passes wide to Grant. He digs deep into the line before releasing to Luke Brooks, who takes the extra meters on offer. A crisp face ball on the following play gets Matt Eisenhuth one-on-one with Adam Elliott, and when he earns a quick play-the-ball, Grant takes off to get the Tigers into attacking field position.
He then fires a peach of a pass – across three Bulldogs defenders – to the chest of Brooks, who gets outside Cogger’s shoulder to drop Sam McIntyre into a hole, dragging the ‘Dogs defence in field. Knowing they now have the numbers on the left, Grant finds Brooks with another good pass and young Tommy Talau does the rest in the corner.
This passage didn’t show up in any highlight reels. No one was raving about it in the post-match review.
But it had ‘Cameron Smith’ written all over it.
The intricacies of Grant’s game – at just 23 years of age – immediately conjure up memories of the GOAT hooker scheming away in a Storm, Queensland or Australian jumper. Holding up markers to get his ball runners one-on-one, manipulating defensive structures, and all while patiently waiting to strike the killer blow, was a subtle art that Smith made a stellar career out of at the Melbourne Storm. Grant was beginning to look like an artist himself at times last year too.
He has Brandon Smith challenging him for game time, but we’re expecting Grant to play a starring role for Melbourne from dummy-half in 2021.
Right Scrum-Line – Who is feeling the pressure this season?
The man who famously asked Wayne Bennet for permission to extend his Grand Final celebrations rather than come into Origin camp seems immune to any kind of pressure. But how will Cameron Munster handle being tasked with leading the Melbourne Storm into a new era in 2021?
Given Munster’s performances in the 2020 Grand Final and the State of Origin series, those in Melbourne have every right to feel optimistic that their rugby league juggernaut will keep rolling on, despite entering an NRL season without Cameron Smith for the first time in 19 years.
Munster is one of the best players in the game, let alone one of the best five-eighths.
His running game and footwork rivals that of a Jack Wighton or Cody Walker. He has the vision and ball-playing of a Shaun Johnson while his kicking game has improved drastically since his transition into the halves. He doesn’t shirk his duties in defence and he is clutch in the pressure moments.
But Munster can’t rely on getting the ball in exactly the right place at exactly the right time – almost every time – anymore. Grant and Brandon Smith will still provide quality service and bring their own strengths, but there is no replacing a GOAT and how Munster responds without Cameron Smith calling the shots from dummy-half will be the greatest test of his career, so far.
Left Scrum-Line – My left-field thought for the season
Don’t sleep on Reimis Smith.
The forgotten man in a flurry of offseason trades, Melbourne’s acquisition of Smith from the Bulldogs could end up in Buy of the Season conversations come finals time.
Swapping a premiership-winning and international representative of Suliasi Vunivalu’s status with a 49-game winger from a team that finished 15th seems like a downgrade on face value. Still, there is plenty of upside for Smith heading into 2021.
Statistically, his 2020 form comfortably measured up against the man he is being asked to replace.
| 2020 stats (avg/game) | Tries | Run metres | Line breaks | Tackle breaks | Tackles | Missed tackles | Errors |
| Reimis Smith | 0.6 | 120 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| Suliasi Vunivalu | 0.8 | 117 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
Both men offered virtually the same with the ball in hand, except for their tackle-breaking ability which Vunivalu dominated. But Vunivalu also missed more tackles and made significantly more errors per game, on average, than Smith.
And when you consider that Smith managed to post these numbers while part of a woeful Bulldogs’ offensive system last season, there is reason to believe that his attacking output will greatly improve in 2021 as he joins one of the competitions’ best attacking teams.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on Reimis Smith when he makes his expected debut for the Melbourne Storm next weekend. It’s rare to see a player go downhill when they pull on that purple jumper, and Smith looks set to be no exception.
21 things for the 2021 NRL season: Reimis Smith
Peak, Pass, Pit
Oscar and Jason give their predicted peak for the Storm in 2021 along with a pass mark and worst-case scenario.
Peak
Prelim: Back-to-back premierships now don’t feel so impossible following the Roosters’ feats of 2018-19, but it is still an incredibly difficult task and this Storm squad will be hard-pressed to back up their 2020 championship efforts. Navigating the loss of Cameron Smith will take its toll, and while this squad is almost guaranteed to play finals in 2021, I can’t see them lifting the trophy at the end of it all. ~OP
Premiership: Why not? The Storm have a top two forward pack in the NRL at the very worst. Does the same go for their spine? Sure, Smith is a massive loss, but Grant is an unreal talent and will only improve under the tutelage of the Storm staff. This is still an excellent first-choice 17. There is the added motivation of Craig Bellamy’s impending retirement from head coaching too. ~JO
Pass
Top 4: The Melbourne Storm demand success and Craig Bellamy will be doing everything he can to prove he can maintain his club’s elite status without its greatest ever player. Representative duties and injuries will affect the Storm more than most clubs as usual, but they should still be good enough to finish inside the top four. ~OP
Top 4: It’s in the close games that Smith’s departure will be felt most. He has masterminded clutch finishes and secured two competition points in games the Storm will drop a little more often this season. They will handle the teams at the bottom of the ladder to remain a Top 4 team, though. ~JO
Pit
5th-6th: Munster, Papenhuyzen and Hughes have developed into elite players in their respective positions thanks in part to Cam Smith’s work from dummy-half. Without his timing and execution, this trio will have to learn the rules all over again – and that could take time. There is little doubt over this trio’s ability to lead the Storm into the future, but a few teething problems along the way could see Melbourne slip just outside the top four in 2021. ~OP
5th-6th: You never know what might happen in the NRL. Injuries can decimate a team – even the Storm. They will have State of Origin to navigate mid-season this time around too. They’ve had Smith to deal with those Origin impacted rounds recently. It could be a difficult period for the club and drop them down the ladder a spot or two. ~JO
*All stats and video from NRL.com unless stated otherwise