Why the Storm’s injury toll is unlikely to fast-track Tariq talks
Craig Bellamy confirmed his interest in luring Tariq Sims to Melbourne, but the season-ending injury suffered by Christian Welch on Saturday night is not expected to fast-track any talks of an early release for the Origin forward.
Sims was left out of St George Illawarra’s side that won against the Warriors on the weekend with coach Anthony Griffin admitting the Origin forward needed some match fitness via reserve grade because of three calf tears.
Unwanted at the Red V beyond this year, Sims met with the Storm during the week about a move for 2023. The Storm are only interested in offering Sims a one-year deal, and view him as a middle forward.
The Storm would welcome Sims to their squad this year, and while club officials will not entirely rule it out, they privately concede they do not have enough money in their cap to accommodate his beefy price tag.
Christian Welch is assisted from the field late on Saturday night.Credit:Getty Images
Sims is on $800,000 this year and while the Dragons have already paid the first five months of his deal, the remaining $450,000 owed to him is more than double what the Storm have in their budget.
The NRL would also block any potential move by the Storm or Dragons to pay Sims well below his market value this year in the hope of paying him overs in 2023 to suit the cap.
When asked if Sims was Melbourne bound, Bellamy said: “Not at the moment, no.”
“We’ll have a bit of interest in a few players the way we’ve lost some [now]. Tui [Kamikamica] is suspended and we’re not sure when he’s coming back,” Bellamy said.
“We’re not scraping the bottom of the barrel, but we’re getting towards it.
“I was really confident in Alec [MacDonald] putting in the effort [Saturday night]. I know how fit he is, that’s his strength. But I’m not quite sure we have any more Alecs left.
Craig Bellamy is keen on luring Tariq Sims south, but will it be this year?Credit:NRL Photos
“We’ll have to pull two or three players into the squad if the two are as serious as our medical team think they are – we’ll have to find some extra players from somewhere.”
The departures of Jesse Bromwich, his brother Kenny, Felise Kaufusi and Brandon Smith at season’s end mean the Storm need a senior forward like Sims.
There were sad scenes beneath CommBank Stadium after the 26-16 win over the Tigers, with Welch said to be inconsolable. Bellamy pointed out the popular prop – and newly installed co-captain – had already missed two seasons because of ruptured ACLs.
The club also lost George Jennings to a season-ending knee injury, and Brandon Smith for up to a month with a broken hand.
Bellamy refused to blame the playing surface, especially given no Tigers players were injured.
The Storm have Bromwich (COVID-19), plus suspended pair Cameron Munster and Harry Grant to return next Thursday in what will be Bellamy’s 500th game an NRL head coach. The Storm host South Sydney at AAMI Park.
The return of Munster brought a smile to Bellamy’s face and he said: “Munster is a new man, it took him a while to work that out, but he is and has been training the house down.
“I’m not that excited about putting up with him during the week, but I’ll be glad to see him Thursday night.”
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