It was a typically good year from the Melbourne Storm in 2023, who increased their top-eight streak to 12 seasons in a row.
Finishing third on the ladder, Melbourne reached the preliminary finals before being bundled out by the premiership winning Panthers.
There’s no knock in being one win away from a grand final, but Storm coach Craig Bellamy would have been a little disappointed with how the season ended, with two heavy losses against Brisbane and Penrith in the finals.
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It was clear that there was a bit of a gulf between those two teams and the Storm. Star halves pairing of Cam Munster and Jahrome Hughes weren’t at their best against the Broncos and Panthers while the Storm forward pack were dominated.
Melbourne will run it back this season with a team that is essentially the exact same as what they put out last year.
Storm champion Cooper Cronk told foxsports.com.au that he believes his former team have all the tools to close the gap on last season’s grand finalists.
In what could be the master coach’s final season, Cronk pointed to Bellamy’s influence as why the Storm can never be discounted.
“Any team coached by Craig Bellamy are going to do the fundamentals well. They’re going to be a good defensive team, they’re going to compete on every play and they’ll be physically and mentally tough. They’re the cornerstones that Craig has preached for such a long time, and it shows it that they get you deep into September,” Cronk said.
“The times that Melbourne have been successful and won grand finals, I think you got to double down on the guys you’ve invested a lot of faith, confidence and money in. I’m talking about (Cam) Munster, (Harry) Grant, Jahrome Hughes and even big Nelson (Asofa-Solomona).
“If I was to say what the Storm needed to improve on or what they needed to go one better, I’d have to say their star players need to play well at the right time of the year.
“I think they have the ingredients, good system, good role players, and ultimately their big-name players to step up when it counts.”
Here foxsports.com.au breaks down all the key factors for the Storm heading into the 2024 season.
STRENGTH
Halves combo.
The Storm arguably boasts the best halves pairing in the game with Cam Munster at six and Jahrome Hughes leading the team around in the No. 7 jersey.
Both players will be the first to say that they didn’t have their best performances during the finals series in 2023, but to come to their defence, the forward pack didn’t lay that great a platform at times.
Munster is simply electric every time he has ball in hand, with opposition defences guilty of standing still whenever he touches it.
Hughes has come on leaps and bounds over the past few seasons to become, in Cronk’s opinion, one of the “elite halfbacks” of the competition.
The Storm will go as far as these two take them, and with plenty of firepower in the backline outside them, and no real weakness across the board, there are no excuses for Munster and Hughes this season.
IT’S A BIG YEAR FOR
Harry Grant.
The Storm appointed the 26-year-old as captain of the club, with Grant taking over from Christian Welch.
Grant, who will have Munster and Hughes as his vice captains, said it’s an “honour to lead this group of players and the club”.
With the captaincy comes more responsibility to perform, which Grant will undoubtedly relish.
Like Munster and Hughes, Grant wasn’t all that effective in the games that mattered at the end of the season but enjoyed a stellar 2023 campaign otherwise.
While he’s done everything you could want out of a marquee player over the past couple of seasons, even turning into an 80-minute player at dummy-half, Grant will be expected to up his game even further in 2024 as the Storm chase their first grand final appearance since 2018.
WHO IS MOST UNDER PRESSURE
Forward pack.
It was no secret that the Storm’s engine room were thoroughly outplayed in their two losses in the finals.
There wasn’t enough impact with ball in hand and very little momentum or go forward was created which didn’t help the halves or back line.
It wasn’t completely the fault of the forward pack though, as other players went missing at times as well, but as we’ve seen with the likes of Brisbane and Penrith, a good pack is so important.
Cronk believes the Storm have the talent at the club, but says a few players need to go to another level “at the business end” of the season.
“Nelson’s (Asofa-Solomona) the key with the power but they need a little bit more power from the likes of Christian Welch and Tui Kamikamica so when Nelson is off the field there is someone else to bend the line,” Cronk said.
“They need Trent Loiero and Eli Katoa to go to another level. I think the combination of Hughes and Katoa was dangerous at different stages. Loiero needs to develop that with Cam Munster.
“There’s enough there that says they can win but Tui and Christian Welch probably need to go to another level at the business time of the year to keep the momentum going that Nelson brings to the bench.
“If Harry Grant is going to be at his brilliant best, he needs a bit of chaos, quick play the balls and momentum.”
Former Tiger Shawn Blore, who still has his best footy in front of him, will add a little bit of x-factor to the Storm pack.
THE RISING STAR
Sua Fa’alogo
The 20-year-old turned heads at the end of last season, starring off the bench in one game for the Storm with a double and plenty of highlight reel moments.
He then got a chance to represent Samoa during the Pacific Championships, and was arguably their best player over the course of the tournament.
Fa’alogo has since been promoted to the team’s top-30 squad and player and club have discussed a possible extension.
You’d expect he’ll feature prominently this season, but will he be there in Round 1?
Cronk says he’s unsure what Bellamy will do with Fa’alogo but said the young gun may have to add a couple of different strings to his bow if he wants to compete for a regular spot.
“If Papenhuyzen is fully fit he starts, and then where do you put Nick Meaney? He’s very versatile.
“At the end of the day, the fact that they have a depth chart of 3 fullbacks that basically sit in any team is a pretty good thing.
“Craig Bellamy has always said that he’s happy to find a spot on the bench for an outside back who can defend and play in the middle.
“In terms of Sua, I haven’t seen enough of him this pre-season, but my guess is it’s up to Nick Meaney and Sua to find a spot on that team.
“I think if he can hold his gloves up and defend in the middle of the field, Craig Bellamy has shown in the past he’s willing to put an outside back on the bench.”
PREDICTION: 4th
BEST 17:
1. Ryan Papenhuyzen
2. Xavier Coates
3. Reimis Smith
4. Nick Meaney
5. Will Warbrick
6. Cameron Munster
7. Jahrome Hughes
8. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
9. Harry Grant
10. Christian Welch
11. Trent Loiero
12. Eli Katoa
13. Josh King
14. Bronson Garlick
15. Tui Kamikamica
16. Shawn Blore
17. Sua Fa’alogo
2024 squad: Aaron Pene (2024), Alec MacDonald (2025), Bronson Garlick (2025), Cameron Munster (2027), Christian Welch (2025, MO 2026), Chris Lewis (2024), Dean Ieremia (2024), Eliesa Katoa (2027), Harry Grant (2025, PO 2026), Jack Howarth (2027), Jahrome Hughes (2026), Joe Chan (2024, MO 2025), Jonah Pezet (2025), Josh King (2025), Marion Seve (2024), Nelson Asofa-Solomona (2027, MO 2028) Nick Meaney (2024), Reimis Smith (2024), Ryan Papenhuyzen (2025), Shawn Blore (2026), Tepai Moeroa (2024), Trent Loiero (2025), Tui Kamikamica (2025), Tyran Wishart (2025, PO 2026), William Warbrick (2026), Xavier Coates (2026), Young Tonumaipea (2024)
Development players: Ammaron Gudgeon (2024), Kane Bradley (2024), Lazarus Vaalepu (2025), Sualauvi Fa’alogo 2024, CO 2025), Tristian Powell (2024)
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