Key moves behind Storm’s premiership push

More experience, more confidence, and some crucial positional moves are the reasons Melbourne Storm’s key playmakers believe they are better equipped to not only progress to the NRL grand final but win it.

Storm skipper Harry Grant has played in two losing preliminary finals but said the “pieces of the puzzle” have come together this season for the minor premiers who have history in their favour going into Friday’s AAMI Park showdown with the Sydney Roosters for a spot in the decider.

Without getting ahead of himself, knowing the job is still to be done, Grant said specifically moves like Trent Loiero shifting to lock, adding Shawn Blore to an edge and the emergence of 21-year-old centre Jack Howarth made Storm a more well-rounded outfit.

“We haven’t gone past where we were last year, so we can’t really say that (we have improved), but I think we’re all a lot more confident in our own positions,” Grant said on the eve of the clash.

“There’s probably a few pieces of the puzzle that have been sort of resolved. I think Treno moving into the middle, a ball-playing lock, and Shawnee Blore into the back row, Jack Howarth into the centres, I think they’ve been awesome.

“And then just everyone, sort of another year in the NRL, everyone’s a lot more experienced and understands what it takes week to week to be not just an NRL player but a Melbourne Storm player.”

Storm has won 10 of the past 11 clashes with the Roosters, who have lost 18 of 25 trips to Melbourne since the first one in 1998. Melbourne won both matches in 2024.

Such has been Storm’s evolution in 2024 there will be four players from the team that took to the field in round 1 who have either moved on, lost their place, or been injured going into the preliminary final.

Howarth has replaced Reimis Smith, who has left the club, Joe Chan had Blore’s place in the back-row, and bench players like Chris Lewis have been squeezed out.

The side that will run out on Friday night is the one Grant thought Storm needed to become and the growth in players like key utility Tyran Wishart can’t be understated.

“I probably always thought naturally it would get to that, but I think you’ve got to expect anything in a season. You don’t know what’s going to happen,” Grant said.

“You know, even the way that Wishy sort of filled in and played a fair bit of footy with (Cameron) Munster on the sidelines, it’s given him so much more confidence, given the team, given the coaches so much more confidence in him, and that’s for a number of positions.

“I don’t think you can write the script at the start of the year, but you can probably look back on it and learn and understand how it has evolved.”

Star halfback Jahrome Hughes said it was hard to go past the “growth” of every player in the squad across 2024, including prop Josh King, having endured challenges, including injuries to key players like Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen, and dips in form before coming good at the right time of the year.

“If I had to put it down to something, a bit of experience and a couple of our younger players,” he said.

“You look at the likes of Trent (Loiero), how well he’s been going this year, and it was pretty good from him getting moved from a different position. He’s been one of our best players all year.

“And then even, like Kingy, we know what we’re going to get from him, but I think just that little bit of more game experience, and I guess being with the team a little bit longer really helps.

“And I feel like we’ve lost a lot of experience over the last couple years, so any gain of experience is good for not just the young blokes but even our leadership group. I think from the growth that we’ve had from last year to this year has been enormous.

“And just our connection, as a whole squad, we sort of haven’t just been the 17 that takes the field every weekend, we’re really connected as a group.

“I feel like we’ve used a lot of players this year, and everyone’s come in and done a great job, so I think just the growth of our whole group in general has been really good. It shows out there.”