NRL match review chief Greg McCallum yesterday defended the decision not to charge Melbourne prop Brett White for elbowing Cronulla's Ben Ross as Storm players admitted they were using the controversy over captain Cam Smith's suspension as added motivation to win back-to-back premierships.

In a boost to Melbourne's hopes of overcoming the absence of Smith in Sunday's grand final, White will take his place against Manly after the match review committee cleared him of deliberately striking Ross during last Friday night's 28-0 defeat of the Sharks.

A groggy Ross was forced from the field after the seventh-minute incident and later told the Herald he couldn't remember any of the match but blamed White for breaking his nose and causing swelling under his left eye in what appeared to be a continuation of their round-two feud in Melbourne that led to both players being sent off.

But McCallum said the match review committee had determined that Ross's nose had actually been broken in the third tackle of the match during a head clash with Storm front-rower Jeff Lima and White was given the benefit of the doubt when he raised his forearm into the former Queensland Origin representative's face.

"The initial contact was chest to chest and they bounce apart after White pushes his left forearm into Ross's shoulder," McCallum said. "White then places his forearm onto the forehead of Ross and unfortunately it slips down onto his jaw as they fall to the ground.

"White didn't re-position his arm as they were falling and he just landed on him. We think Ross suffered the concussion from his head hitting the ground."

White admitted he was relieved at being cleared to play but said he had been confident that he had no case to answer.

"Any time you get put on report you always worry, especially in grand final week," said White, who had 25 carry-over points and would have attracted a 50 per cent loading on top of any penalty following his previous four match ban for punching Ross.

"I had faith they would see the incident for what it was - that there was no malicious intent. I looked at it a thousand times and I knew there was nothing there."

After last Friday night calling for White to receive the same seven-match ban he did for felling Melbourne halfback Cooper Cronk earlier this year, Ross said he no longer cared when the Herald broke the news to him yesterday that no action had been taken over the incident.

"If we were still playing I'd be upset but because we're not I don't really care any more," Ross said.

After becoming embroiled in a slanging match with Storm officials after last week calling for Smith to be suspended over the grapple tackle that has cost him the opportunity to achieve the treble of captaining winning Test, Origin and club teams in the same season, Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart did not want to comment on the incident involving White.

Storm players believed White would not be charged but admitted the club's recent battle with authority had galvanised them.

"I watched the replay on the night and I didn't think too much of it," second-rower Michael Crocker said. "It was a momentum thing. He didn't go out of his way to attack Ben Ross's head. I don't think there was as many other positions he can put his arm when he's coming down. But I think adversity either makes people or breaks people and we've got such a tight-knit group down here."

Asked if the players felt the Storm had been victimised over the grapple-tackle issue, Crocker said: "I think so. I think the fact that it all started at Melbourne, it always seems to fall back on us."

Melbourne forward Jeremy Smith, who will return to the side after missing the win over Cronulla because of a one-match ban for a "chicken wing" tackle, said that he was innocent of the charge but had pleaded guilty to give himself a chance of playing in the grand final.

"I've seen some good chicken wing's but I didn't think that was a chicken wing," Smith said.

Asked if he felt the tackle was one worthy of suspension, Smith said: "I don't think so. You get put in awkward positions all the time in rugby league. I didn't think much of it."