SORRY still seems to be the hardest word, but if we take Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy at his own word, maybe it doesn't. Maybe he has no intention of apologising for his post-match rage against the judiciary, which cost his club $50,000.

With the possibility of even more money leaving the Melbourne coffers as the NRL judiciary panel members continue to threaten legal action, there had been suggestions Bellamy would use his arrival in Sydney yesterday, with his team, to issue a retraction. But the waiting media was left, well, still waiting.

"The kerfuffle, hopefully, has gone as far as I'm concerned," Bellamy said. "I had my say last week, and it's been pretty smooth sailing so far as we go."

Asked when he put it behind him, Bellamy said: "Saturday morning.

"I said what I thought I needed to say and, as I said on Saturday morning, I probably didn't express it as well as I'd like to, but it was a bit of frustration building up.

"It's over as far as I'm concerned now. We're worrying about Sunday."

Any regrets? "No."

And so he was saved, much to his relief. Questions about Manly's weaknesses, the rustiness of Russell Aitken ("They haven't seen too much of Russ, nor have we"), and being portrayed as the villains in the build-up to the decider, followed.

Manly, he said, had improved since last season. "They have improved, and certainly having that grand final experience will help them," he said. "The most impressive thing about Manly has been their last two games. They've won their finals very convincingly against good opposition, so they've really got some form at the right end of the season."

The Storm have been a little more scratchy, having been defeated by the Warriors and scraping past the Broncos - before pummelling the Sharks.

"Our run's been really tough, and we've made it a bit tougher on ourselves in those first couple of games," Bellamy said. "But I think they've steeled us pretty good for a grand final. We know we can hang in there in tough times."

And they can certainly beat Manly. The Storm have won their past three matches against the Sea Eagles, starting with last year's grand final, giving them a psychological edge over their rivals. But without Cam Smith, the reason for his rant, and Ryan Hoffman, they will be disadvantaged.

"I've got confidence in what this team can do," Bellamy said. "We'd certainly prefer to have Smith and [Ryan] Hoffman there, but … we ain't a one-man band or a two-man band, we're a team."

Which team is yet to be decided. Bellamy said he had not made up his mind whether Scott Anderson or Aiden Tolman would secure the final spot on his bench. "There's going to be one happy guy there and one guy who's going to be disappointed," he said.

Anderson or Tolman may get the only apology from Bellamy this week.