‘If that doesn’t fire you up, I don’t know what will’: Craig Bellamy’s blunt message after brutal grand final loss has Storm aiming for instant redemption

Storm forward Shawn Blore hopes to be back in a grand final as soon as possible after he learnt several valuable lessons last year, including one simple message from coach Craig Bellamy.

“If that doesn’t fire you up, I don’t know what will,” Bellamy said to the players after the 14-6 defeat to Penrith.

Blore’s first year at the Storm was better than he could have imagined, with the back-rower producing career-high numbers in all the key stats, while he played finals footy for the first time and went on to make his debut for Samoa.

But not everything went to plan, with the Storm suffocated by a Panthers side that won its fourth title in a row as the minor premiers failed to generate anything in attack behind a well-beaten forward pack.

Bellamy didn’t sugar-coat things after the game, with the veteran coach pointing out a few moments that Blore could have done better.

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“It was just so fast. Thinking back, running out to the crowd was almost like you’ve played a game before the game has even started because there’s so much adrenaline and you use so much energy,” he said.

“Being able to use that energy effectively is something I learnt. When I ran out there and saw the crowd for the first time, saw the Storm banner and then sang the anthem, it was a bit overwhelming and I probably didn’t use that energy the right way.

“I did the review (with Bellamy) and I know there were a few moments where I could have pushed up a little bit and taken a tough carry, but I look back at it now as a big learning curve.

“I take confidence out of it because we played a grand final and we were able to play that calibre of footy.

“He (Bellamy) told us after the game, ‘If that doesn’t fire you up, I don’t know what will’.”

The pain of last year will be used as inspiration for the premiership favourites who have a knack of winning the comp 12 months after losing a grand final.

It all starts on Sunday when they’ll look to extend their absurd record of winning every round 1 match under Bellamy.

The Storm has weapons everywhere you look, but the left edge is its biggest strength and looking more dangerous than ever in the pre-season.

Five-eighth Cameron Munster is fully fit after he missed a large chunk of the season, while Blore, Jack Howarth and Xavier Coates are clicking after their first proper pre-season together.

“We were a very raw edge last year,” Blore said.

“Jack and I had just come in and ‘Munny’ (Munster) was in and out with injury, and ‘X’ (Coates) had a few hamstring issues throughout the season, so this is the first full pre-season where we’ve been able to build combos.

“It’s bloody exciting because the stuff we’ve been able to do in the pre-season (has been awesome). We talk about it all the time when we come into training how excited we are.

“We’re probably at the first step of our evolution, and I feel like we’re climbing and climbing and climbing with every session we do.”