You can always rely on defence.
That was ultimately the wash up from Saturday night's roller coaster contest that saw Storm edge out the Roosters 16-13 at AAMI Park.
The visitors controlled the football for much of the second half but as it has done so often this season, the purple wall was simply too strong.
Storm v Bunnies at AAMI Park! Saturday 26 August, 5.30pm. Be there!
It was always going to take a commited performance to take the points from this top of the table clash but the effort on Saturday night was one that really stood out for the skipper.
"Defensively we were very good, I thought it was the best defensive effort all round I thought for quite some time," Cameron Smith said.
"The Roosters are an aggressive team but I thought we were aggressive in defence tonight, especially at the end when we knew we needed something."
"We have set ourselves a standard for the rest of the season now."
As good as Melbourne were defensively, both captain and coach highlighted the need to improve in attack.
Storm were often turned away at the line by the Roosters defence which means there is no secret what the focus will be at the team meetings this week.
"I was really happy with our defence, I thought it was outstanding," Craig Bellamy said.
"I thought we could have done a bit better with our attack, especially in the first half. We were a bit disappointed with how we attacked in the game."
"We haven’t played how we’d want to play with the football," Smith said.
"We’ve defended our way to wins which is great because defence wins the big matches but if you can help yourself out with the ball and be a lot more clinical there, it makes it a lot easier."
