The Storm lost to premiership contenders Canterbury Bulldogs 6-4 at AAMI Park on Saturday night and are now part of a  logjam of teams with 8-8 records fighting for a spot in the top eight heading into the final third of the season.

Bellamy said his side had no more time to waste before hitting its straps.

"We have been like a roller-coaster this season,'' he said. "We have been up and down with our performances and our effort.

"At times we have just been picking and choosing when we put our effort in, hopefully this is the start of consistent effort and consistent performance - we are going to do well if we do that.

"But we can't afford to come out next week and not put that sort of effort in ... but that is what we have been doing all year."

The Storm had a chance to tie the game in the dying minutes on Saturday when captain Cameron Smith took a difficult penalty shot at goal from the left touchline, only to push the shot wide.

Smith and his lieutenants made the difficult decision to attempt the goal kick when they won a penalty with just three minutes left.

He said it was a tough decision, and disappointing when the kick went wide.

''When the referee blew the whistle I was thinking, ''run it'', but we had a chat and a few of us decided to have a shot at goal,'' Smith said.

''Unfortunately I missed. You back yourself to get them and it didn’t work out for us. It’s a pretty disappointing feeling considering we had a fair few opportunities.

"I thought the Bulldogs were very good defensively, but it was like we couldn’t find the last pass or those last few metres that we needed to get over the line.

"We need to be better in a few areas, particularly when we get opportunities. We have had a fair few opportunities to crack teams this season and haven’t taken them.''

Smith said the match was the Storm’s best defensive performance of the season.

The Storm hosts Canberra Raiders at AAMI Park on Saturday night.