Olam’s Storm wary of Cowboys

CENTRE Justin Olam says his Storm remain upbeat as they look to rebound from Saturday’s 6-32 loss to Penrith with a win over fellow top-four National Rugby League team North Queensland.
Top-two side Melbourne will face third-placed Cowboys in round 11 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville on Saturday (5.30pm kick-off), looking to get their campaign back on track.
The Storm were outplayed in every department as the ladder-leading Panthers enjoyed 62 per cent of possession and completed 35 of 43 sets to record their ninth win of the season.
To rub salt into the wound, it was Melbourne’s biggest loss between the two sides in the league’s history.
“In slippery conditions, we didn’t play the way we wanted,” Papua New Guinea international Olam told Storm TV after the Magic Round loss at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
“We made it hard for ourselves, which is probably why we lost.
“But we’ve had a pretty good season so far.
“It’s only one loss, so we’ll take all the good and bad things from that and move on to the next game.
“Hopefully, we can improve and keep winning games.”
That might be easier said than done, though, as the red-hot Cowboys are on a five-game winning streak, having accounted for Canberra, Gold Coast, Parramatta, Newcastle and the Wests Tigers.
But coach Craig Bellamy and his Storm can take some comfort from the fact that they have won 32 of the 42 matches between the two sides since 1998, including the previous two meetings.
“They’re a top-four team at the moment, so it will be a good challenge for us,” Olam said of hosts North Queensland.
“We’ve got a week to prepare and improve on the things that we need to improve on.
“We need to re-group and get the next win, so that will be the mentality for all the players and myself heading into the match.
“Hopefully, we can get back into the winner’s circle.”