Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy is not concerned by the possibility of skipper Cameron Smith being suspended for his side's preliminary final showdown with the Roosters.
Smith received 10 minutes in the sin bin after he slapped the face of Eels hooker Reed Mahoney late in the opening half of the Storm's emphatic 32-0 drubbing of the Eels on Saturday night.
But Bellamy believes there wasn't much in the incident and that Smith will be free to face the Roosters and attempt to lead his team to a fourth grand final in succession.
"I wouldn’t imagine they would suspend him for that," Bellamy said.
"I think he (Smith) had two or three goes at releasing the grip.
"He was whacking his hand and one might have hit the arm and gone up to the head.
"He was just trying to get him to release the grip.
"Whatever will be will be."
Match: Storm v Eels
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Storm
1st Position
away Team
Eels
5th Position
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Smith made reference to Cody Walker's incident against the Sea Eagles on Friday night that saw the Rabbitohs playmaker receive a $1500 fine for a similar incident.
"I was told there was a similar incident last night, so as long as that is a consistent ruling I am happy with that," Smith noted.
"Reed had a real good hold of me after I kicked the ball and wouldn’t let go.
"I was just trying to break his grip on me and missed the mark and clipped him high.
"It wasn't intentional.”
Bellamy has his say on Smith sin-bin
Mahoney said he felt little contact from Smith and he only held on to the Storm veteran in an attempt to try and spark his side into action.
"We had a bit of a push and shove and one of his pushes ended up getting me in the face," Mahoney said.
"I didn’t really feel it, I just got up and it was a penalty."
Mahoney said he spoke with Smith after the game and both players agreed there wasn't much malice in the incident.
"We all good had a laugh about it at the end, that’s footy," he said.
"I have got a lot of respect for him. Cam Smith has done everything in the game ... it was just me doing my job."
