2 Aug 2011

Bellamy praises 'mentally tough' Storm

12:16 pm on 2 August 2011

The Melbourne rugby league coach Craig Bellamy praised the resolve of his players and the leadership provided by stars Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Copper Cronk as the Storm fought back to beat the Eels 22-18 in Sydney.

The Storm were strangely out of sorts at Parramatta Stadium, trailing 18-nil with 26 minutes remaining, before they sparked to life and posted four consecutive tries to steal the match from the hapless Eels with just four minutes left on the clock.

Bellamy concedes he thought the Eels had the game won with 30 minutes to play.

Melbourne's now four points clear of the chasing pack at the top of the NRL ladder tightening their stranglehold on the minor premiership.