Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy was frustrated at his side's lack of energy in the first half after falling to the Wests Tigers 10-8 on Saturday night at AAMI Park.
Instead of celebrating Billy Slater's and Kenny Bromwich's milestones (300 and 100 games respectively for the Storm), Melbourne racked up 16 errors and missed 32 tackles in a below-par effort across the park.
''We need to be better than that,'' Bellamy said.
''For a guy that has played 300 games for our club, and for a guy who has played 100 games for our club, to have a lack of intent to start the game, that isn't good enough.''
An energetic Tigers pack constantly outgunned the Storm around the ruck and found it difficult to get ahead in the game.
''They just beat us to the jump on everything tonight,'' Bellamy said.
''Especially the first half, they had a lot more intent with us with their running. I just think they outworked us and out-enthused us.
''We did some really good things but did some really poor things. It probably crept along from last week too. We need to get back to doing the basic things really well and consistently.
''We're doing them well at stages, but at others we're not.''
Match: Storm v Wests Tigers
Round 2 -
home Team
Storm
8th Position
away Team
Wests Tigers
4th Position
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Cameron Smith was also disappointed at his side's error count and said they need to be more consistent across the park.
''There were basic errors out there tonight, which is frustrating,'' the Storm captain said.
''We had plenty of opportunities tonight to do things with the footy, we just weren't good enough.
''If one player doesn't do his job right, it puts out the whole team. That's what we're lacking at the moment, a bit of cohesion out the whole side. You need to be consistent for eighty minutes, it doesn't matter who you play.''
Smith tipped his hat to the Ivan Cleary-coached Tigers, who have won two from two games.
''The Tigers were very good,'' Smith said.
''We're not sitting here saying we should have won. They were the better team tonight. They showed last week they are a very tough side."
Veteran prop Jesse Bromwich said the team needed to lift its intensity or they would struggle on Thursday against the North Queensland Cowboys.
"I think the most disappointing thing was last night we had Billy Slater's 300th and Kenny's 100th game, and to lose it like that is heartbreaking for us," he said.
"We dropped the ball too much and did things we normally don't do at times.
"We've got to be a lot better next week - we've got the Cowboys and it's a grand final rematch. The way to move on is to work hard at train and fix a few little problems."
