The Storm suffered a frustrating 24-12 loss to South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Accor Stadium, losing a fourth successive NRL game for the first time since 2015.

The mighty club slipped to fifth in the NRL, falling below the Brisbane Broncos. While they likely sneak into the top eight, it’s hard to see them doing any damage in September if they play the way they have recently.

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The Storm made eight errors in the first half alone, and it was the club’s senior players who let them down with Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Felise Kaufusi and Jesse Bromwich all turning the page in attack.

The scoreline did no justice to South Sydney’s dominance, raising questions about whether Melbourne’s incredible reign of dominance is starting to come to an end and forcing Bellamy to wonder if his side can get their season back on track .

The 62-year-old didn’t hold back in the post-match press conference, furious at his team’s mistakes and lapses in discipline.

“I thought we made some real moves last week and had some really good parts of our game tonight, but if you keep making mistakes and you don’t back them up well with defense you’re going to lose. the game and that’s what happened tonight,” Bellamy said.

“We don’t pick them up off the street… they’ve been playing football for quite a while and they have to go out there and grab the ball and pass it and do their tackles.

“We just don’t play a regular game for 80 minutes. If we got 65 minutes, that would be an improvement over what we’re doing now.

“I’m not sure we can turn the tide.

“At the end of the day, I came here and said the same thing every week, or thought the same thing every week.

“There was some good effort there tonight but there are things you’re not going to get away with at this level and you’ll pay the price and that’s what we did those two last weeks.

“You have to get there and the only way to get there is to work hard.

“We are probably at a crossroads right now. We have to decide if we want to turn left or right.

“With all due respect, the players will make that decision.”

Queensland great Corey Parker was taken aback by Bellamy’s brutally honest remarks.

“I thought Craig was actually being a little too honest there,” he told Fox League.

“If he saw that again, he might have chosen his words differently.

“They are rightfully at a crossroads and he mentioned those words as well.

“They don’t know where they’re going right now.

“They never really looked like they were going to challenge South Sydney.

“It’s completely against the fabric of Melbourne that we know.”

The Rabbitohs came into Saturday’s clash having won just five of their 36 games against the Storm, but it was league pride that made Melbourne their bunny with a performance that will put the rest of the NRL on edge. keep.

“We haven’t talked about the record,” said South Sydney skipper Cam Murray.

“Everyone knows in the back of their mind that we don’t have a good one against them.

“We talked a lot about previous times against Melbourne, how we shot ourselves in the foot and sat in the locker room after losing to them feeling disappointed. I’m really proud of the boys.

Superstar full-back Latrell Mitchell was exceptional in his fourth game back, ending the night with three assists and some incredible touches as he torched the Storm from the edges.

Cody Walker had a rare night off after being split in two early by a Justin Olam special, but it just opened the door for halves partner Lachlan Ilias to have his best night as a freshman.

The No.7 youngster was the best player on the pitch in a terrific sign for the Bunnies just weeks after being benched against the Dragons.

Ilias controlled play down the right, building on a try and finishing another when he backed a break from Keaon Koloamatangi who had a blinder on the right edge and opened the scoring in the second minute.

“I’m really proud of Lachy,” Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou said.

“He’s had a lot on his shoulders this year, but thanks to the support of our senior group, he’s done very well. He is what we expected and hoped he would become.

The result takes the Rabbitohs to 24 competitive points and level with the Melbourne Storm as they push for a top-four spot.

– with Martin Gabor, NCA NewsWire