Advertisement

Storm give Jordan McLean 10 days off

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has given prop Jordan McLean a 10-day break from training after the NRL club opted not to appeal against his seven-match ban for his lifting tackle on Alex McKinnon.

McLean has returned home to be with his mother Julie at the town of Young in the south west of NSW.

The NRL and Melbourne have said they’ve been consistently monitoring the welfare of the 22-year-old and Bellamy said he had left the club ahead of Monday’s clash with St George Illawarra and would return for their round-seven match in Canberra in two weeks.

“He is having a bit of a break at the moment,” Bellamy said on Friday.

“He has gone home to see his mum, which is good for his mum. I can’t imagine how she has been feeling.

“So he will stay up there for about 10 days.

“We play the Raiders up there next weekend so he will come and join us then and get back into his training.

“At the end of the day, we decided not to appeal for the welfare of the people involved, certainly Jordan, and certainly in respect to Alex.

“We think that was the right way to go and that is what we have done and we will now move on.”

Melbourne sought clarification from the NRL this week regarding Match Review Committee charges from round five.

The Storm were left bemused after Gold Coast hooker Beau Falloon was cleared of a lifting tackle on Storm centre Will Chambers and St George Illawarra’s Joel Thompson wasn’t charged over a tackle on South Sydney fullback Greg Inglis.

But Bellamy said that wasn’t his main concern after watching his team slump to two straight defeats.

“They have their job to do. I can only worry about the things I can control,” he said.

“I’m more concerned about getting our defence right … it has been in the past and is not where we want it to be.

“That is something we have worked really hard on and hopefully you will see some results on Monday night.

“There has been some poor decision-making at times.

“The lack of urgency in certain situations has been quite alarming.

“That is what we expect to improve on.”

Former playmaker Gareth Widdop faces the Storm for the first time on Monday and Bellamy said he was pleased the England international had been a success so far in his move to the Dragons.

“We are really happy that Gaz is doing really well,” he said.

“He has come out of playing with these guys here, where I wouldn’t say he was playing second fiddle but he was not getting the ball all the time when he wanted it.

“At St George, he seems to be the head man there and that has helped him really blossom.

“He has always had a cool head. I think that role is perfectly made for him.”

Advertisement
Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter.
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.