HOT NEWS: Tigers battle Storm, but visitors tear off their Leichhardt while Nelson hobbles away

Craig Bellamy is optimistic about Melbourne’s most recent setback in terms of injuries after star player Nelson Asofa-Solomona hobbled out of the Storm’s 40-28 victory over the Wests Tigers.

With a suspected hamstring injury, Asofa-Solomona left the game midway through the first half at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday, adding another person to the Storm’s casualty ward.

They suffered more blows when prop Alec MacDonald was unable to complete the second half and stand-in hooker Bronson Garlick passed away from back spasms.

Already without Cameron Munster and Xavier Coates, and with concerns over the fitness of Ryan Papenhuyzen – who overcame a late test to play on Saturday – Bellamy’s ladder-leading Storm are treading a fine line.

“I was talking to ‘NAS’ and he said, ‘It’s not that bad’ … but with all due respect ‘NAS’ isn’t a doctor,” Bellamy said of Asofa-Solomona’s post-game prognosis.

“It was bad enough that he had to come off but the other guys did a good job in the middle.

“There was a lot of moving around.

“We did pretty well with our attack. I’m pretty disappointed with our defence, but having said that we only ended up with one guy on the bench.”