As the Melbourne Storm prepare for their upcoming match against North Queensland, coach Craig Bellamy's frustration over the team's performance is palpable.
Last week, the Storm squandered a commanding 14-0 lead at AAMI Park, ultimately losing 18-14 to Brisbane, a scenario reminiscent of their painful grand-final defeat to the Broncos where a strong lead slipped away.
Halfback Jahrome Hughes acknowledged the disappointment felt within the squad regarding this recent result.
"Obviously he wasn't happy - I don't think anyone in the team was happy at all," Hughes stated on Wednesday.
"I think he used the word complacency coming out in the second half and we hope it wasn't complacency from any of the players and just the way the game went.
"But I think it's a massive learning (curve) for us, especially a couple of the new boys in the squad who haven't played much first grade or their first as full-time starters."
Hughes believes the grand-final result did not haunt the Storm during their latest match but felt that they simply fell short against the Broncos' resurgence.
"We knew that they're a good team and having that lead probably ... you don't have it won at halftime.
"We had the right mindset going out there and we knew they were going come out hard and be very desperate and I guess we just didn't combat that very well."