Craig Bellamy has called for the NRL to abolish five-day turnarounds that include back-to-back travel schedules, questioning if it is putting players at risk of injury.
Melbourne's 26-20 loss to Manly on Friday night came on the back of one of the most arduous schedules in the NRL, with two flights in five days.
The Storm flew out of Brisbane last Sunday shortly after their big win over Parramatta, and did not arrive home in Melbourne until close to midnight.
They had recovery back in Melbourne early in the week, before having to fly to Sydney to finalise preparations for Friday night's match.
"I’m not quite sure why there’s still as many five-day turnarounds for all teams, I’m not just talking us," Bellamy said after the loss to Manly.
"When you’ve got those five-day turnarounds, you need at least one of those games at home.
"I’m not making it the reason we lost tonight, but it didn’t help in our preparation."
Melbourne winger Will Warbrick suffered a calf injury in the loss at Brookvale, and Bellamy said he was unsure if the hectic schedule had potentially played a role.
His injury added to injuries for Ryan Papenhuyzen (ankle), Cameron Munster (groin) and Jonah Pezet (knee) in a high-profile Storm casualty ward.
"I’m not a medical person and I don’t know what causes some injuries that we’ve had, but (the schedule) probably doesn’t help," Bellamy said.
"I know travelling can tire you out. When you’ve got a five-day turnaround, you need at least one of those games at home."
Across the board, the NRL have reduced five-day turnarounds from 30 last year to 26 this season.
Melbourne have the equal-most with three, and also have some travel in each of their remaining two five-day turnarounds.
Included in that is a trip to Townsville in round 26, five days after hosting the Dolphins in Melbourne.
"I’m not quite sure why there are still these turnarounds with the Thursday night game, (but no Monday night game)," Bellamy said.
"I don’t know why there’s still five-day turnarounds, or at least as many."
Wests Tigers also had a five-day turnaround out of Magic Round, but opted to remain in Queensland as they moved from Brisbane to Townsville.
The Warriors are the other team to face two interstate games during a five-day turnaround this year, but will likely remain in Australia between their matches against the Dolphins and Manly in August.
