The Warriors may have already lined up a player, but Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy will not stop in his quest to replace Ryan Papenhuyzen for the rest of the season.
After Papenhuyzen’s heartbreaking injury last weekend, the Storm are desperately trying to fill the giant hole left by the dynamic defender.
Bellamy had hoped to bring in Broncos-bound Reece Walsh to fill the void, but having granted the young gun an early kick-off on a compassionate ground, the Warriors don’t want to be taken advantage of.
“Melbourne Storm made inquiries to try and get Reece Walsh off the Warriors for the rest of this season to play at fullback,” Dave Riccio told Triple M.
“Warriors have batted this one, no way.”
The Daily Telegraph reports Warriors chief executive Cameron George has given Storm ‘free rein’ as Warriors bid to sneak into top eight despite mid-year coaching change after Nathan Brown resigned .
“He’s been released at the end of this year for personal reasons and geographical reasons were part of it as well,” George said. News Corp.
“Let’s just let Reece go be with her daughter.
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Walsh dropped to bench for Raiders clash | 01:01
“Then we’re not going to become someone who just lets him trot off to another club interstate.
“That completely flies in the face of why we’re letting Reece go… Then it doesn’t have to blow up for him to go to an interstate club because they’re in the finals and we’re not.
“We would be accused of selling the fire to our players who are leaving just because we are out of the final.
“We’re not here to recruit for other clubs, we’re here to do our best for ourselves and Reece can help us do our best.”
Jones: Walsh needs more consistency | 01:02
With Walsh unlikely to be released to join the Storm, Bellamy is said to be exploring other options, which include Titans youngster Jayden Campbell, ahead of the August 1 deadline for add players to your roster.
Tigers winger Ken Maumalo is also another on the hit list, and the three-decade relationship between Bellamy and Tigers boss Tim Sheens could help.
“There’s a line through Walsh, but there was another interesting name in Jayden Campbell,” Riccio said.
“His name was brought up at the Melbourne Storm so stay tuned and I also understand that Craig Bellamy has contacted his old friend Tim Sheens at the Wests Tigers.
“Craig asked if there are any Tigers players he could throw in, Ken Maumalo’s name has come up, Dane Laurie’s name has come up.
“So certainly the storm is exploring every opportunity to try to fix this Papenhuyzen situation.”
The Storm hope Maroons star Xavier Coates, who limped off during the State of Origin opener in Sydney, will be fit for selection in the next fortnight.
RACE FOR A DISFAVOR WARRIOR
The Warriors will lose Walsh, but he’s not the only one who could leave New Zealand.
Eliesa Katoa has yet to play since Round 11, and her feet are said to be sore.
Eliesa Katoa has hardly been seen since the middle of the year and could be out for the Storm. Photo: Getty Images Source: Getty Images
News Corp reports that the Storm, Canberra Raiders and Redcliffe Dolphins are considering adding the forward to their roster despite Katoa having two more years to run on his deal with the Warriors.
With the Storm losing Kenny Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi, Bellamy needs to add another second rower to his roster and NRL heavyweights are said to be leading the hunt to add Katoa.
The 22-year-old burst onto the scene in 2020 and was a regular last year, but has fallen out of favor since the middle of this season.
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Meanwhile, the Dragons are said to be considering adding an attacking whore to their roster.
Anthony Griffin has Andrew McCullough and Moses Mbye on his roster until the end of 2023, but Jacob Liddle and Sam Verrills are being considered despite being signed next year, he has reported. News Corp.