Bellamy addresses 'lack of effort' as Hughes returns to lift Storm

Craig Bellamy is hoping to see Melbourne “improve a little bit” when they take on the Broncos to close out their regular season, after putting their second half capitulation to the Roosters behind them.

The Storm trained at Totally Workwear Stadium, home of Storm feeder club Brisbane Tigers, on Wednesday morning, with the coach offering an unvarnished opinion of his team’s performance in their 40-10 loss, calling out a “lack of effort” from his side.

“We rested a few last week and our second half was poor to be quite honest, so we'll be looking to improve a little bit there,” Bellamy said.

“It was some poor defence really, and lack of – don't like saying – but lack of effort, so that's what we've come back to.

“There's a few things pinpointed and hopefully, we'll do a better job tomorrow night.”

Aiding in their quest to build on their dominant 43-14 record against the Broncos is the return of halfback Jahrome Hughes from a shoulder injury, with Bellamy keen to see him back in action before the finals.

“We probably could've brought him back last week, but we just wanted to make sure that he was basically 100 percent over the shoulder injury and the medical staff are very confident that he is 100 percent,” Bellamy said.

“It'd be good to get him back in and have a run.

“After six weeks off, doesn't matter how experienced you are, it's hard to come back into the finals, so I think tomorrow night's run's going to be really beneficial for him and hopefully for us.”

While Bellamy has named a strong side with key stars like Xavier Coates and Eli Katoa to return, they will however be without back-rower Shawn Blore after he suffered a fractured larynx in the match against the Roosters. Prop Stefano Utoikamanu is being rested, while skipper Harry Grant has one more match to serve in his suspension for a shoulder charge.

The Broncos have had their fair share of off-field disruptions in the lead-up to the important match, one of which has resulted in Origin centre Gehamat Shibasaki being stood down for the game, but Bellamy dismissed any thought of them being unprepared with a spot in the top four on the line.