sport news Craig Bellamy admits Melbourne 'got what they deserved' in Magic Round ... trends now Craig Bellamy admits Melbourne 'got what they deserved' following Magic Round thrashing against Penrith...and insists loss it's a 'GOOD comedown' as Storm needed a reality check Melbourne were thrashed 32-6 by Penrith in Magic Round on Saturday Craig Bellamy said the loss was a much-needed wake-up call for the Storm Melbourne were without Jahrome Hughes, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Reimis Smith But Bellamy said the injuries weren't the reason behind Melbourne's loss By Dan Cancian For Mailonline Published: 16:15 BST, 14 May 2022 | Updated: 16:15 BST, 14 May 2022 Viewcomments Craig Bellamy believes Melbourne's 32-6 loss to Penrith in Magic Round was a welcome reality check for his side, admitting they 'got what they deserved'. Melbourne arrived in the clash against the reigning premiers top of the NRL ladder after overtaking the Panthers last week, but were never at the races. The Storm trailed 14-0 after just over 10 minutes and any hopes ignited by Nick Meaney's first half try swiftly vanished as Penrith scored another three tries either side of halftime. Craig Bellamy said Melbourne got what they deserved in a 32-6 drubbing against Penrith 'It's probably a game we needed after three or four weeks where we've won really well,' Bellamy said after the game. 'With all due respect that was a good comedown for us. 'We got what we deserved tonight. Perhaps we haven't been going as good as other people thought.' Penrith returned to the top of the NRL ladder with a dominant win at Suncorp Stadium There were mitigating circumstances for Melbourne, who were missing star halfback Jahrome Hughes, fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen - the NRL's leading try-scorer this season - and centre Reimis Smith. While the latter two were ruled out of Magic Round after picking up injuries last Sunday in the win against the Dragons, Hughes was a late withdrawal with a calf problem. Bellamy, however, refused to use injuries as an excuse for the result. The Storm hit back through the first half courtesy of Nick Meaney's try but that was as good as it got for an injury-depleted Melbourne Storm halfback Cooper Johns struggled in place of the injured Jahrome Hughes 'We had three guys out from last week, but that is going to happen to other teams and us again this year as well,' he said. 'The guys that come in we expect them to do a job and play to their strengths and get their job done. 'It was more than that. That wasn’t the only problem tonight.' Viliame Kikau (middle) celebrates Penrith's second try with Izack Tago (No 3) The Panthers racked up more than twice as many metres - 1,976 to 996 - than Melbourne and completed 79 percent of their sets to the Storm's 64 percent. Bellamy conceded his team had been unusually sloppy in possession. 'Some of the errors, like I think we threw three forward passes tonight from dummy-half,' he said. 'I can’t remember the last time we did that. We didn’t show any patience at all. We didn’t complete well. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility