Competition can be healthy but helping the competition could be healthier.
The fight for spots in Craig Bellamy’s 17 has been an ongoing one this season with no shortage of players putting their hand up for NRL opportunity.
Storm players have been going head-to-head throughout 2017 in order to earn their spot in the side.
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Tohu Harris is one who has experienced first hand the healthy competition for spots.
The second rower has missed a total of 13 games this season, during which time he watched the likes of Felise Kaufusi, Kenny Bromwich and Joe Stimson step up in his place.
However rather than sulk and feel sorry for himself, Harris was more than willing to offer advice to his less experienced teammates.
It is that care for the team that is just one example of why Storm have been able to perform at the level they have so far this season.
“(Your teammates) help you to prepare as well as you can for the game and we’ve got to do the same back,” Harris said.
“At any moment, at any time, someone might get injured so someone else has to step up.
“That is why every single player in the squad needs to be ready to go and needs to prepare as well as they can to play the game. If we are not helping each other out then the team is going to be worse off.”
Harris appears to have hit form at the right time, scoring two tries in Melbourne’s final home and away game against the Raiders last week.
Now the 25-year-old is preparing for his fifth consecutive finals campaign since making his Storm debut in 2013.
While the Kiwi may know what to expect, this campaign is as different as any other, with several Melbourne youngsters preparing for their first final.
“It is hard to compare because we’ve got a lot of new players,” Harris said.
“We’ve got some players who have never played any finals games.
“It is exciting to see how pumped up they are for their first finals game. It is all part of the build up so we are really excited about it.”
