Craig Bellamy Left Stunned as Ryan Papenhuyzen Misses Try During Storm’s Dominant Victory

Melbourne Storm mentor Craig Bellamy is eager for fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen to avoid a peculiar blunder after he squandered an opportunity to score during his team’s victory.

In the 16th minute, Papenhuyzen broke through the Eels’ defence, creating a two-on-one scenario alongside Cameron Munster.

Choosing to hesitate, he opted to dummy, only to be stopped by Isaiah Iongi, while Munster threw his hands up in disbelief.

“He must owe him money… that was an absolute try missed,” remarked Billy Slater during his commentary on Nine.

“They seldom make errors like that—it should have been a six-pointer right under the posts,” added Phil Gould.

Fortunately, the oversight didn’t affect the Storm’s dominance, as they headed to the break with a commanding 46-6 lead.

As he left the field, Papenhuyzen shed light on his decision.

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“We’re keeping a little tally of tries, and I didn’t want to gift him one,” he explained to Nine’s Ruan Sims.

“He can put in more effort for that try.”

After the match, Bellamy struggled to rationalise the incident.

“I’m not sure, maybe they had a bet on it,” he joked.

“It’s not typical of Paps, to be honest. I could envision Munster doing a show-and-go and attempting to score himself.

“Paps doesn’t usually play that way. Let’s hope it’s a one-off.”