NRL cap doesn't reward loyalty: Bellamy

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has taken aim at the NRL salary cap as he prepares to lose his 11th player from the Storm's era of three straight grand finals.

Teenage international Israel Folau (Brisbane), veteran forward Mick Crocker (Hull),
utility Matt Geyer (retiring), prop Antonio Kaufusi (North Queensland) and
back-rower Jeremy Smith (St George Illawarra) will become the latest of Melbourne's
grand final stars to quit the club after Sunday's decider at ANZ Stadium.
They join a host of big names to have exited the club in the past three years with
the NRL's $4.1 million salary cap inevitably breaking up the champion team as
emerging players' price tags go up.
The Storm extended the deal of young superstar Greg Inglis last month for a reported
$500,000 a year.
"I don't think our salary cap rewards loyalty of the players that have been long
term at the club," Bellamy said.
"I think after seven or eight years you should start getting some sort of
dispensation on the salary cap.
"I think also for developing younger players at a younger age that have been at your
club from 14 or 15 years old and now they're coming through first grade, I think you
should get some reward for that."
Bellamy said breaking up a team also had the effect of breaking up a community.
"The guys who are leaving, they've been really important parts of our club and it's
more than just losing players," he said.
"You spend nine, 10 months of the year with those guys nearly 24-seven so it's the
bonds that you build off the field besides the bonds you build on the field.
"Those guys are a really important part of our club, they're a really important part
of our culture and our social life as well as our footy life so they're going to be
missed."
Crocker has won premierships with the Sydney Roosters, in 2002, and the Storm as
well as playing six Tests for Australia and 10 State of Origin games for Queensland.
"It is my last game for the club but there's a lot of people in the same position on
both teams so I'm trying not to think about it too much at the moment," he said.
"I'm just going to enjoy the week with the boys and just soak this up as much as I can.
"I don't think you need any extra motivation to perform better on grand final day.
If you're not driven enough to get success on the biggest day of the year then you
shouldn't be here."
Meanwhile, Bellamy said Manly deserved to be favourites on Sunday after cruising
through the finals series while the Storm did it tough.
"We don't particularly care if we're underdogs or favourites or whatever," he said.
"Manly certainly deserve to be favourites, their form in their two semi-finals has
been really good, they've had that week off to freshen up as well.
"We've sort of gone through a bit of a tough run to get there."
But the coach hinted at a psychological edge with Melbourne having won four of their
past five clashes with Manly, including this year's classic at Brookvale Oval where
the Sea Eagles threw everything at the visitors.
"At the end of the day we've had good success in the last three or four games
against them," Bellamy said.
"I'm not quite sure what it is but certainly the game at Brookvale was a great game
there.
"I think one message that we did send in that game was that it doesn't matter what
happens, we're going to be fighting hard till the end.
"We just kept turning up so I think whoever plays us, they know we're going to play
until the end whatever the situation is."