Nelson Asofa-Solomona to miss NRL grand final as fans erupt over Storm act towards Roosters players

Nelson Asofa-Solomona will need to overturn a charge at the NRL judiciary to play in next Sunday's grand final after he was hit with a four-game ban on Saturday. Asofa-Solomona was sin-binned for a high shot on Lindsay Collins in the opening tackle of Friday night's preliminary final win over the Roosters.

Collins was ruled out with a Category 1 concussion, and Asofa-Solomona is set to miss the grand final as a result. He could have escaped with a fine if the incident was deemed grade-one by the match review committee, but they came down hard on Saturday morning with a grade-three charge.

The Kiwi international is facing a four-game ban with an early guilty plea, which will rise to five games if he challenges at the judiciary and fails. The only way he'll play in the grand final is if he can get a downgrade at the judiciary next week.

"You'd hate to see him miss a big game," coach Craig Bellamy said after Melbourne's 48-18 win. "I didn't think it was a sin bin. Penalty, I thought it was fair enough, but that's just me. I've seen it live and seen one replay, and that was my impression ... I didn't think there was a whole lot in it."

Roosters players had also suggested Asofa-Solomona would be unlucky to be rubbed out. "I hope (he's) not (banned), I truly do," Jared Waerea-Hargreaves said.

"It's why we play, it's such a physical game. You play that thing in the middle, we're just out there trying to do our best. They are small margins we talk about. I really hope it doesn't cost Nelson a grand final."

In better news for the Storm, Bellamy dismissed injury concerns around star trio Harry Grant, Jahrome Hughes and Nick Meaney. A neck injury flared for Hughes, while Grant suffered a calf issue early in the match and then Meaney suffered a knock to his knee.

Hughes and Meaney were taken from the field in the final five minutes, while Grant played the full 80 but looked very ginger post-match. But Bellamy praised the resilience of his players and revealed there's no chance they'll miss the grand final next Sunday.

Melbourne Storm in brilliant act for departing Roosters players

Meanwhile, Bellamy and his Storm players have won praise around the NRL world after a brilliant act of class towards departing Roosters players Waerea-Hargreaves and Luke Keary on Friday night. Waerea-Hargreaves and Keary didn't get the fairytale farewell they wanted as the Roosters had their season ended by the Storm.

The Roosters stalwarts are both moving to the Super League in England in 2025, and were given an emotional farewell on Friday night. But it wasn't just the Roosters players paying tribute, with Bellamy and his Storm players joining in to form a guard of honour as Waerea-Hargreaves and Keary walked off the field.

A number of Storm players hugged and congratulated their rivals in a brilliant show of respect after a hard-fought game. Fans and pundits were taken by the gesture from the Storm, flocking to social media to sing their praises.

It continued a remarkable turnaround for the once-despised Melbourne Storm, who have become much more likeable in recent years. Coach Bellamy seems to have relaxed a fraction and has become more relatable to everyday fans, while the players are hard to hate even though they keep winning.

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Trent Robinson pays tribute to departing Roosters players

Speaking in his press conference after the loss, Roosters coach Trent Robinson lauded Waerea-Hargreaves and Keary as among the most influential players in the club's history. Friday night's game was also the last for Joey Manu and Joseph Suaalii, who are both heading to rugby union, while Robinson also paid tribute to departing players Sitili Tupouniua, Dylan Napa and Michael Jennings.

"There's guys that have impacted the club in the right way as much as any guys over the course of 116 years," Robinson said of the departing crew. "Jared, Joey Manu, Kez (Luke Keary), Sitili (Tupouniua), Suaalii and then Naps (Dylan Napa) and Jenko (Michael Jennings) back at home as well.

"Those guys have had a big impact on the history of our club and jersey. We're really proud of where our club is. (They are) some guys who put a lot of heart and soul into our jersey and our club. We feel really proud about the time they've had with us."

with AAP