Storm’s Resurgent Charge: Unending Possibilities in Mid-Season Push
Despite sitting a precarious six points outside the coveted top eight and having already leaked more points in the first 13 rounds than in some past full seasons, veteran prop Josh King insists that “the possibilities are endless” for his Melbourne Storm outfit as they embark on a dramatic mid-year surge towards the NRL finals.
The back-to-back beaten grand finalists have faced widespread write-offs following a demoralising seven-game losing streak earlier in the season. This period was marked by significant injury concerns and the challenging adaptation to the NRL’s evolving rule interpretations, which seemed to have derailed their campaign.
The magnitude of their struggles was underscored by a crushing 50-10 defeat to the Penrith Panthers in round five. This result, statistically, appeared to signal the definitive end of their premiership aspirations, as no team in the history of Australia’s first-grade rugby league has ever recovered from conceding 50 points to go on and claim the title.
However, in a testament to their resilience and enduring quality, the Storm have slowly but surely begun to turn the tide. A more encouraging run of three wins from their past four games has reignited hope. This Friday, they face a crucial home clash against the Newcastle Knights, where a victory would provide a significant boost, propelling them closer to eighth spot on the ladder just before their first bye week of the year.
“I have so much belief in this team, and the possibilities are endless,” King declared, a sentiment likely met with apprehension by the rest of the NRL competition who may prefer to see them miss the finals.
“The season isn’t written off by any means. The ladder is quite tight, and you don’t really see it sort of sitting on place until after this Origin period,” he explained, highlighting the typical volatility of the competition during the representative window.
“Some teams have had two byes, but we haven’t had a bye yet, so we’ll certainly keep on fighting each week. If that ends with us in the top eight at the end of the year, then we’ll take everything we can get.”
While finals qualification might be a distant goal for some, the Storm’s immediate focus appears to be on rediscovering the brand of football that has defined them as the most dominant team of the past two decades.
Key players are showing signs of returning to peak form. Cameron Munster is gradually recapturing his best, while local junior Sua Fa’alogo has emerged as a vital attacking force, earning man-of-the-match honours against the Sydney Roosters last week.
“I don’t think there’s a point in worrying about the end result at the minute; the destination is where we’re trying to get to,” King stated, pointing to a round nine loss against the Dolphins as a pivotal turning point in their season.
“I think at the moment for us, it’s about each week at a time and really making sure we’re building on our performances, and every week we can be proud of our performance. I reckon it’s not that we’re trying any harder or I think we’ve explored different things, but rugby league, there are so many different things that happen in a game, and you tend to put your focus in different areas.”
He elaborated on the shift in mindset: “And I think the Dolphins game, we started putting our focus back in some areas that we were doing last year and probably didn’t realise that we’d fallen away in a little bit. And in that game, even though we lost, we put in what was probably one of our better performances for the year. And then again on the back of that, we revisited a few other things that really worked for us last year. And since then, I think we’ve been a really competitive side.”
The unprecedented seven-game losing streak was uncharted territory for everyone at the club. However, the team’s performances over the past month suggest they might be on the cusp of achieving something remarkable, particularly given their challenging 2-7 start to the season.
History offers a glimmer of hope. The Penrith Panthers, for instance, endured a difficult start to last season, finding themselves with a 3-1-7 record before mounting a charge that almost saw them reach the grand final. Similarly, the 1999 Brisbane Broncos managed to recover from winning just one of their opening 10 matches to ultimately finish in eighth place.
Winger Will Warbrick echoed King’s sentiments, emphasising the importance of internal belief. “Yeah, we lost seven in a row, but the biggest thing for us was trying to not panic and have doubt and to then maintain belief in the playing group with the way we wanted to play,” he said.
“There are a few things we’ve needed to tweak and improve on, but I think as long as everyone is on the same page with what we’re trying to do, the belief is still strong. One win sometimes helps with building that confidence back up and getting us back on track.”
Warbrick concluded by reinforcing the team’s present-focused approach: “The destination’s not the worry. It’s probably more what works for us this week to help us win and just being able to do that and back that up.”
