it would have been mental but not as mental as last year
ftr, i am glad we didnt make it, because i think the storm were putting the cleaners through whoever they played
I would have been proud for us to backup and make the GF in 2017 but I maintained throughout the season that there is just no way the Storm would have allowed us to beat them. They did enough against the Cows in the GF to get a comprehensive win but they might have played even better against us albeit with a potentially tighter scoreline.
It would be like the Blues coming up against the Maroons in a big game 3 decider - technically the blues have a chance but the QLD's would make sure they got the job done no matter what. The class, professionalism and determination in these sort of teams usually wins out over time. The bad news is that in the Storm's mind they might feel they still 'owe us one' but who knows how much of that team is still playing if we meet them again in a GF or prelim in the short term
I just lean back some days with a smug silly grin that the Cronulla Sharks beat the Melbourne Storm in a hard fought heart attack level Grand Final and that it cut them deep and that no matter what happens from here on out nothing changes that fact
The Storm will never have a 2016 Premiership - Cam's salty tears are in that ANZ soil for good.