5 talking points for Storm in 2024

Such are the lofty standards the Storm have set that a third-placed finish and a trip to yet another preliminary final was viewed in some quarters as a disappointing season for the purple army.

With one of the most settled rosters in the NRL and a superstar spine capable of turning games in a heartbeat, the Storm are sure to be in the mix again but a couple of injuries to key players could derail them.

NRL.com examines the key talking points for the Storm as they launch into the 2024 pre-season.

Can Ryan Papenhuyzen return to his electric best?

After ascending to the Storm No.1 jersey in 2020 and helping the club to a premiership with a tryscoring blitz in the finals, Papenhuyzen scored 28 tries in his next 27 games before his career flashed before his eyes late in the 2022 season when he shattered his kneecap. After a year on the sidelines the electric 25-year-old made it back and was just finding his feet when he dislocated his ankle in Round 27 against Brisbane. “It was the most painful thing I’ve ever done… they ended up having to cut my boot off,” he lamented. It’s expected Paps will be back on the training track in December and should be available for Round 1 but it’s hard to gauge how his psyche will be affected. Will he still have the same speed, will there be any fears about copping another serious injury? And where does he fit into Craig Bellamy’s plans given how well Nick Meaney played at fullback in 2023 and the emergence of young gun Sua Fa’alogo?

How do you keep Sua Fa’alogo settled when he’s behind Meaney and Paps?

Talk about making a name for yourself in a hurry. The Samoan young gun started 2023 on a development contract and found his way into the NRL team for the final game of the season, scoring two tries and running for 108 metres in a slashing debut. He carried that form into the Pacific Championships and is now knocking on the door for a spot in Melbourne’s best 17 every week. The 20-year-old Victorian junior will remain on a development contract in 2024 and the club have an option in their favour for 2025 which they will undoubtedly want to enact. The pressure will no doubt start to come when he is free to talk to rival clubs and he has to weigh up what the future looks like at Melbourne with Nick Meaney and Ryan Papenhuyzen in front of him. Should Faalogo continue his rapid development and keep churning out a truckload of tries in Hostplus Cup then his youthful exuberance and sublime skills may be too hard to ignore.

What is Craig Bellamy’s future?

After two decades at the helm in Melbourne, Bellamy had originally planned to hang up the clipboard at the end of 2023 but the fire still burns. In May the Storm announced that the three-time premiership coach would go around again in 2024, much to the delight of his players, who went on to qualify for the finals for the 20th time in his 21-year reign. The master coach signed a new five-year contract with Storm in 2022 that allows him to decide each year whether he will continue in the head coach role for the following season or transition into a coaching director role. "We'll give him all the time he needs to make a decision, it certainly won't be something we'll be rushing," Storm CEO Justin Rodski said in November. "Hopefully Craig still has a couple more years left in him." Speculation will continue to swirl as Bellamy enters his mid-60s but with the desire still strong and success still coming, it’d be a brave person to say he won’t go around again in 2025. The return of Jason Ryles to the club as assistant coach is a fair indication that he will be the man to take over but when that is, only Bellamy himself will know for sure.

Enter Fortress AAMI at your peril

You get the feeling that being eliminated from the finals on their own patch at the end of 2022 hit a raw nerve with the Storm and they vowed to make their home a fortress in 2023. In nine games at AAMI Park they were beaten only once, a shock loss to the Bulldogs in Round 2, before racking up wins over the Wests Tigers, Roosters, Warriors, Broncos, Sharks and Sea Eagles in front of the Storm faithful. During the women’s soccer World Cup the Storm moved across town to Marvel Stadium where they had a 1-1 record but back on familiar turf at AAMI they rounded out the season with a win over the Titans in Round 26 and a heart-stopping finals victory over the Roosters. When it comes to home ground advantages in the NRL they don’t come much bigger than the Storm’s ability to send rivals back with their tail between their legs.

Can Will Warbrick back it up?

The former rugby sevens star was one of the huge success stories of 2023, crossing for 17 tries in 25 games and making 20 line breaks. The challenge now is for the powerhouse winger to continue the momentum into his second season when opponents will no doubt have come up with plans to nullify him. Warbrick’s height and leaping ability made him the perfect target on the right wing for kickers Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster and if he can avoid a case of ‘second year blues’ he could challenge for top tryscorer honours in 2024.