Unseen footage of Storm coach Craig Bellamy giving two of his players a spray has been released following a dramatic Magic Round clash where the referee “lost control” according to an NRL great.
The Raiders defeated the Storm 20-18 in golden point, with Melbourne pinged for three crucial penalties in the final ten minutes.
One of those took a Storm field goal off the board in the 75th minute that would have given Melbourne a 19-12 lead when Trent Loiero elbowed Joe Tapine in the tackle before the field goal attempt. The Raiders would score a miraculous try through Kaeo Weekes to level it up and send it to extra time.
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In golden point, Storm prop Stefano Utoikamanu conceded a contentious penalty while his side were ten metres from Canberra’s line and in the ensuing set, Melbourne lock Trent Loiero hit Hudson Young high, gifting the Raiders the matchwinning two points.
NRL360 co-host Braith Anasta believes referee Gerard Sutton was “flustered” in the concluding stages, leading to a couple of questionable decisions.
“I thought he lost control the ref. He was visibly shaken and wondered, ‘what do I do?’ So he went back and gave this penalty because he got this one wrong,” Anasta said.
Anasta as well as journalists Phil Rothfield and Brent Read believed the Storm were harshly done by when Utoikamanu was penalised for foul play on Raiders hooker Tom Starling in the 84th minute.
“I still don’t know what the penalty is on Utoikamanu for. Starling got caught up in the ruck here and he’s trying to play the ball,” Anasta said.
“I thought it (the refereeing) was completely puzzling,” Rothfield added.
“Even the Utoikamanu penalty at the end. I had my doubts whether that was a penalty. I didn’t know he had been told earlier in the game he was on a warning.
Read then said: “Stefano hasn’t done anything there. Starling won’t get out from underneath him.. What’s he meant to do?”
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Bellamy refused to lay blame on the officiating when discussing the loss in his post-match press conference.
Instead, he slammed the discipline of his side, particularly Loiero and Utoikamanu.
Now, fresh vision of the Storm sheds has been released, with Loiero and Utoikamanu seemingly copping a spray from Bellamy.
“No one saw this last night, we found this earlier today. Stefano and Trent Loiero copping a spray from Craig Bellamy. He wasn’t happy,” Anasta said.
“That decision I said around Utoikamanu, it’s not to say that Melbourne didn’t completely crumble. The players made the mistakes. Loiero twice got it wrong.
“He (Bellamy) had a problem with it and had a problem with his players,” NRL legend Gorden Tallis added.
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