Former Melbourne Storm, Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith believes the club he played more than 400 games for can still win the 2022 premiership.
The Storm, who have had plenty of injury problems in recent times through and on the back of the State of Origin window, lost their fourth straight game on the weekend against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The club haven't suffered a losing streak as long in many, many years, with Craig Bellamy's side looking a shell of their former selves as they attempt to climb back into the winner's circle.
While they are still destined to play finals football, the club have fallen a significant distance behind ladder leaders the Penrith Panthers, and are currently in a scrap to ensure they still make the top four, with the North Queensland Cowboys, Cronulla Sharks and Brisbane Broncos currently rounding out the top four.
The Storm are two points behind the Broncos and Sharks, and four behind the Cowboys, and could face either an elimination final in Week 1, or a road trip for a qualifying contest.
Smith though told SEN Radio that the club are in a similar position to 2012, when they ultimately went on to win the competition.
“I’ll tell you what, he (Craig Bellamy) was much the same in 2012 where we actually lost five in a row that year,” Smith said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“The fifth loss was against the Dragons down at WIN Stadium, I remember Craig coming down onto the field after the match and we walked from halfway down into the dressing sheds.
“I remember him looking over to me, and just said, ‘Mate, I don’t know, I’ve got no answers’.
“It wasn’t like we were training or preparing badly, the training was great, the energy was great, the effort was great, things just weren’t happening on the field.
“Through that period, it was just at the back of Origin where Cooper (Cronk) had broken his arm and Billy (Slater) had suffered a knee injury in that Origin series.
“We were missing those guys for a couple of games, and to be fair, the games that we lost in that period we weren’t playing great.
“We had a few things go against us, some 50/50 calls, but you get them every week.”
He said the 2022 side are still putting in the effort to get the job done.
“When I was watching the Storm the other night, there’s plenty of effort, there’s no doubt about that,” Smith said.
“But there are individuals in that footy side at the moment that just aren’t showing any care towards the football.
“It doesn’t matter who’s not playing or who is playing, every person in that footy side knows how to hold onto the ball and how to tackle.
“They’re not controlling the football and making their tackles, it’s as simple as that.
“They just need to get back to doing those two things really well and they’ll start getting some results.”