Bellamy delighted to end barren away run - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Bellamy delighted to end barren away run

By Ian McCullough 17/04/2011 06:57:28 PM Comments (0)

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy was full of praise for his players after they ended a wait of almost a year for an away NRL victory.

The Storm's 25-10 win over Penrith on Sunday was their first win on their travels since round 10 in May 2010, when they beat Canberra.

"It's been a while since we won on the road, especially when our last effort (Cowboys) was quite poor," Bellamy said.

"I didn't think a whole heap went our way today so I was really happy with our resolve and ability just to hang in there through some tough times. A couple bits of brilliance got us the points."

Bellamy paid tribute to his young guns who have adapted brilliantly to life in the NRL, with Gareth Widdop, Kevin Proctor, Jesse Bromwich and Matt Duffie impressing at Centrebet Stadium.

All four have had to step up after the team was forced to offload a number of big names in the wake of last year's salary cap scandal that saw them stripped of two premierships.

"We're still learning a bit about each other. I'm not only talking on the field, I'm talking about off the field," he said.

"It's a whole different squad to what we've had. Half the squad from last year is gone so it's still a work in progress."

"Duffie, Gareth, Kevvy Proctor, Jesse Bromwich and Justin O'Neill, who didn't play today, but those guys were the core off our 2009 Under-20s side that won the comp.

"So they've got a really good combination. They know each other's games. They're still learning about playing first grade footy week-in week-out but they're doing a really good job for us at the moment."

Duffie, who celebrated signing a new contract with the club on Saturday with a try, said he was tempted to take up an offer from Parramatta, but admitted playing with the likes of Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater was too good to walk away from.

"Parramatta offered me a chance to go there and I thought very hard about it," Duffie said.

"But with Cameron and Craig, Billy and Coops, I think I've got a lot to learn off them and this would be the best place to play footy."

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