Storm ‘deserve’ Grand Final place: Bellamy

Craig Bellamy says Melbourne are fully deserving of their place in the NRL Grand Final.

The Storm booked themselves a showdown with Des Hasler’s Canterbury after a 40-12 demolition of reigning premiers Manly on Friday.

The Storm crashed to five straight defeats before hitting their stride in the NRL‘s later rounds to finish second in the final standings behind the Bulldogs.

The clash at ANZ next Sunday will be Bellamy’s fourth Grand Final with the Storm and the first since the salary cap scandal that saw the club stripped of both their 2007 and 2009 titles.

“I think we really deserve it too,” Bellamy said.

“We had a bit of a flat spot after Origin but we started the season really well and the guys did a good job to kick back after we had those five losses in a row.

“It’s hard to win a competition, it’s hard to win a Grand Final.

“I think the two games we played in the finals series have been two of our better performances of the year.”

Storm skipper Cameron Smith meanwhile wants the squad to keep a lid on their emotions ahead of the big day.

“We are not getting carried away with being in it,” he said.