Harry Grant on winning the Golden Boot, missing Storm stars and more

Steve 'Chimes' Gillis sat down with Melbourne Storm captain and Golden Boot winner Harry Grant for one of the most revealing conversations of the season on Chiming In, covering the health of his injured teammates, what makes Craig Bellamy tick, his unlikely path to becoming a hooker and why he believes the Storm are far from finished.

Katoa and Kamikamica: fighting back

Grant opened with a genuinely moving update on two of the game's most seriously injured players. Eliesa Katoa, who has been ruled out for the season, is attending training daily and approaching his rehabilitation with a mindset Grant described as the best he has ever seen.

"He doesn't come in sulking or anything. He's just, these are the cards I've been dealt and I'll get on with it, and when I'm back I'm back. With that mindset, we'll definitely see him back at some point. Just don't know when."

On Tui Kamikamica, who suffered a stroke and has been in hospital in Melbourne, Grant was equally measured and warm.

"Super positive, super upbeat. He's got a really strong mindset. He's in the rehab ward at Richmond at the moment. The day he moved into the ward was the day we headed up to Sydney, so I reckon everyone will get the chance to see him."

Grant also revealed it was Katoa's idea to carry the Fijian flag out before the Panthers match as a show of support for Kamikamica.

"I know the performance didn't show, but fingers crossed that could have given Tui a little spark at home and let him know we're all supporting him - not just as a club, but as the game as a whole."

Papenhausen and Solomona: moving on

On Ryan Papenhausen's decision to walk away from the game with a year still on his contract, Grant admitted it caught the group off guard.

"A lot of the time you hear about guys chasing the pay-out or medically retiring, but 'Paps' just fully stepped away. It's a shock in itself. He just said, this is not me right now, I need to do something else. Hats off to him for that."

Grant was also spoke to Nelson Asofa-Solomona's move into boxing, joking he wouldn't fancy getting in the ring with him.

"I think for the best thing for Nas is it's on his shoulders. If that's what he wants to do, he's got to work hard at it. And I'm sure he'll do that."

Has the Storm lost its bite?

After the Panthers put 50 points on Melbourne - a record margin against the club - Grant was characteristically unfased when asked whether the dynasty was over.

"The game doesn't know how many points you got put on. Roll up next week and the game's oblivious - it doesn't know you lost last week. You've got to earn it. I definitely don't think Melbourne's window has shut."

He acknowledged the depth losses have been significant, naming Papenhausen, Solomona, Bronson Garlick, Jahrome Hughes's supporting cast and others as players who have left gaps, but insisted the group is closer to turning it around than the scoreline suggested.

"The last couple of weeks we sort of weren't far off wins. It's not far off. We just have to work hard, fast-track some development and put ourselves in the best position to win games."

The making of a hooker

One of the most entertaining passages of the interview was Grant's account of how he ended up at hooker at all. Growing up in Yeppoon in central Queensland, he was always a five-eighth - until two serious injuries as a child forced a change of direction.

A staph infection in his shoulder at 12, which required bone to be removed, kept him out of contact sport for a year. The week he returned, he broke his leg. Another year out.

"It was sort of like two and a half years out - thirteen, fourteen - come back halfway through fifteen and a school team needed a hooker. If you want to play in the team, you've got to play hooker. I said yeah. I'll do it. First game, I didn't know what I was doing. I just threw my hand up. I just wanted to play footy again."

Grant reflected that those injuries, which felt devastating at the time, ultimately shaped everything.

"If I didn't have that, would I really have taken that next opportunity? Would I really be a hooker? Would I be sitting here now? It's what you make of things."

The 35-metre pass

Asked about the miraculous cut-out pass to put Will Warbrick over against the Cowboys, Grant was as understated.

"I sort of seen Muzz was a little bit infield and I knew there was a bit of space over the top. When I threw it, I was hopeful."

He credits years of daily passing practice - and, growing up, throwing at a target painted on an old concrete tank in the backyard.

"When you threw a good pass it came back to you."

Life at the Tigers and the loan that changed everything

Grant became the first player in NRL history to be loaned to another club when he joined the Wests Tigers in 2020, with Cam Smith still at Melbourne and COVID wiping out reserve grade.

"If I'd stayed at the Storm, I might not have played any games of footy that year."

The move came about through a conversation with Craig Bellamy, who had been thinking about how to get Grant more game time.

"He said, better yet, why don't we just try and do it now. And then if it doesn't work out, someone might get desperate around trials."

Playing against the Storm that season left a lasting impression.

"That was what made me come straight back here. This is the hardest game I've ever played."

At the end of that season, Grant earned his first Queensland Origin jumper - widely regarded as the worst Queensland side ever assembled.

"We got a win, Wayne. It was pretty surreal. Walking in, we had a very young crew - a lot of the guys knew each other from junior footy. And then all the older boys were legends of the game. Benny Hunt, Cherrington, Papali'i, Jake Friend. And the coaching staff - Wayne, Alfie, King Henry. It was just awesome to be a part of."

Craig Bellamy: the man behind the myth

Grant offered a rare and considered insight into what makes Bellamy such an enduring force in the game.

"A lot of people see an angry man for 80 minutes. But I think that 80 minutes is just because he's put so much time himself into it and he expects results. Off the back of the last couple of weeks, even last night, he wasn't too bad. Mixed - we played some good footy at times, but just hurting ourselves."

His description of Bellamy's coaching philosophy was illuminating.

"He lets your natural game do the work. If you've got strengths, you bring them to the team. He's always been really big on that. His big thing is coaching your attitude towards your career - the way you train, the way you prepare. And then let your natural game take over."

On what makes Melbourne the club they are, Grant's answer was simple.

"Good people that work hard. From our owners, our board, our CEO Frankie Pani, down to Craig. It just keeps going - everyone's just good people but they work extremely hard. And when the club started, there was a lot of uncertainty of whether it would survive. The players that went there always talk about how they had to be good people to keep the club alive in AFL heartland. I think that's stuck with the club for a long time and it's still there now."

Two grand final near-misses

Grant described the 2024 grand final against Penrith as an "absolute contest" in which Melbourne were perhaps too conservative.

"We probably thought we didn't take enough risks at times. We were a bit conservative. A few moments where we could have made the most of them, but credit to them, they played a really good game."

Last year's loss to the Broncos he attributed to inconsistency, noting a 20-minute lapse that proved costly.

"They'd give up a lead just to come from behind and play some exciting footy. We lapsed a little bit of concentration and yeah credit to the Broncos."

On Reece Walsh's grand final performance specifically, Grant was admirably generous.

"I would have liked him to do it against someone else, but yeah - a lot of people probably don't see how much he loves his rugby league, how much time he puts into it. If you work hard, you get lucky. And the run he went on was sort of like Jared Hayne - untouchable. We just didn't do a good enough job of controlling Reece in the grand final."

A kid from Yeppoon

Asked what he is most proud of, Grant's answer said everything about the man.

"Just being a kid from Yeppoon that is hopefully having a positive influence on people and the game, and encouraging people from all walks to chase a dream."

His advice for aspiring young players was equally considered.

"It's not going to be perfect. You definitely have to make some sacrifices, commit and just work hard. If you work hard, you'll get noticed. Billy Slater said it — you'll be the most influential player in your own career. All the decisions you're making, all the help you're seeking - if you don't do it, it's not going to happen."