Smith hung out to dry: Bellamy
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Craig Bellamy looks on during the NRL preliminary final against the Sharks. (Getty Images: Matt King)
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy launched a scathing attack over the suspension of captain Cam Smith after his side qualified for the NRL grand final last night.
The Storm cruised into next Sunday's decider with a 28-0 demolition of Cronulla in their preliminary final at the Sydney Football Stadium.
But Bellamy clearly had more on his mind than Melbourne's victory, launching a stinging vitriol against the NRL judiciary and the media over the treatment of Smith, who copped a two-match ban for his grapple tackle on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday.
"Cameron Smith, 10 minutes after the game last week was hung out to dry," he said.
"The press conference got hijacked by some of you guys in the media that had him hung out to dry straight away.
"Then it continued for four or five days. Four or five days you ripped into us and I know it's not all of you, but there's some sections of the media that seem to have an agenda against Melbourne and certainly on the grapple tackle.
"To pick out a guy for a grapple tackle at this time of year is certainly unfair."
Bellamy pointed to what he said was a grapple tackle by the Dragons' Stuart Webb on Manly's Heath L'Estrange two weeks ago which went unpunished.
"You have a look at that tackle and tell me that's not a worse tackle than Cameron Smith's," he said.
"You guys (the media), when it's a grapple tackle issue with us it's in the paper for five days and if it's someone else it might be in there for a day and then it's gone.
"We're just after a fair go and I don't think Cameron Smith got a fair go."
Storm chief executive Brian Waldron hit out at Sharks coach Ricky Stuart, who had chimed in on the debate concerning Smith by saying the Test hooker should be suspended.
"There's a thing called due process," Mr Waldron said.
"Due process should be that opposition coaches, opposition officials, other officials in positions of responsibility in the game should not be commenting on issues before the judiciary.
"It questions the integrity of our game at the core and we need some leadership to fix it.
"To allow Ricky Stuart to make those comments is an absolute disgrace and a blight on the game."
But Stuart said he had not changed his opinion of Smith's suspension.
"Wally Waldron should go and learn the rules before he starts complaining about me making comment," he said.
"I was the opposition coach, of course I'm going to make a comment.
"Cameron Smith is one of the best players in the world and of course I'm going to make a comment about it and so does every media and every person in the street and 99.9 per cent of them believe what I said.
"The game, me, didn't make the tackle.
"You can tell that idiot Waldron the same thing."
Melbourne is still able to appeal Smith's suspension but did not indicate last night whether it would do so.
The Storm will take on the winner of tonight's second preliminary final between Manly and the Warriors at the Sydney Football Stadium.
