The Melbourne Storm, one of the most dominant rugby league clubs of the 21st century, is facing its worst run of form in the Craig Bellamy era, after dropping a sixth consecutive match that has all but ended the club’s 2026 finals campaign. The slump has sparked widespread criticism of club and Queensland captain Cameron Munster, the franchise’s star five-eighth who has posted career-worst numbers across every key attacking and defensive metric this season. But teammate and utility Tyran Wishart has jumped to defend the veteran playmaker, saying the entire squad shares responsibility for the losing streak and that the team remains fully confident Munster can return to his elite best.
Saturday’s 2026 Anzac Day clash at home against the South Sydney Rabbitohs marked a new low for the Storm: it was the first time the Rabbitohs had ever beaten Melbourne in Melbourne, and the defeat stretched the club’s losing run to six matches – a result Bellamy had never had to navigate across his decades-long tenure as head coach. Following the demoralizing loss, Bellamy made his frustration with the squad’s performance crystal clear.
Speaking to Fox League post-match, Munster, one of the most dynamic running five-eighths of the modern era, opened up about the team’s struggle, admitting the side fell well short of the standards expected of the historic club on a day that honors Australian and New Zealand service members. “We spoke about today about how lucky we are to play on a day like Anzac Day. You want to turn up for your teammates, club and the soldiers who served our country,” Munster said. “We all had moments we want to have back as players and as a group. We were very poor again … as a spine, we’ve been very poor. It’s frustrating because we’re training so well. We’ll have to go back to the drawing board.”
The 2026 season has been a stark departure from Munster’s usual elite form. He has not crossed the try line in 23 consecutive outings, and all of his key attacking statistics have plummeted from his 2025 campaign. Last year, Munster notched 25 try assists; this season, he has recorded just four. He has broken the opposition line only once all year, and his average running metres per game are the lowest of his entire 14-year professional career. Defensively, the trend is equally concerning: he is missing a career-high 4.1 tackles per match, and on Saturday he was outmatched by rising Rabbitohs forward Tallis Duncan, who dominated physical collisions when carrying the ball.
With the season teetering, the Storm will be forced to adjust their line-up for Friday’s clash against the Dolphins: starting halfback Jahrome Hughes is ruled out after sustaining a head knock, meaning Munster will line up alongside a new halves partner. Despite the mounting pressure and off-field criticism, Wishart said the entire squad remains firmly behind Munster, emphasizing that the playmaker has never shied away from accountability and continues to put in maximum effort at training.
“He always tries hard and you can never knock him for that,” Wishart said. “He’s the first to put the blame on himself, but we all love playing with him. We know what he can do, he’s a competitor, and that’s what we love about him. The rest of this year, we’ve got full belief in what he can do so that’s not an issue for us.”
For a club that has dominated the NRL for more than 20 years, missing the 2026 finals would be a historic shakeup to the league’s hierarchy, as the Storm works to reset and recover from its worst losing run in modern club history.