IT was always going to take time for Brodie Croft to find his feet as Melbourne’s full-time No.7, and his start to the season has been a rocky one.

Before Cooper Cronk’s departure at the end of 2017, Croft had featured in five NRL games and posted hugely impressive numbers — four tries, four tries assists and three secondary assists.

Then we saw him play for the Storm in this year’s World Club Challenge where he tore Leeds to shreds and made most pundits think that the transition from one half to another had been seamless.

Scroll down to see who else is under the pump ahead of round six.

Round 20

But the weekly grind of the NRL is a different beast, and former grand final winner Michael Ennis has highlighted a “concerning” sign in Saturday’s 11-10 loss to the Wests Tigers that Storm skipper Cameron Smith is losing faith in the youngster.

“Smith’s second half was excellent, I thought he really started to dictate terms,” Ennis told Fox Sports.

“But when the game was in the balance, I thought Smith started to play away from Croft which was concerning.

“(Croft) had some errors around his game and it wasn’t a happy afternoon.

“What I thought that was more notable was that Cameron started to look in another direction as the game got to its tipping point.

“I know (Croft) had a shot at field goal, 45 metres out, Tuimoala Lolohea ended up getting seven tackles — then they went down the other end and kicked the field goal — that in itself was a young kid who hasn’t had the experience.

“I know he was trying to ice the game for his team, but 45 metres out was a massive risk and in the end they were punished.”

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The fact of the matter is that, according to Fox Sports Lab, Croft has the fewest possessions per game (30.2) of any starting half this season who has started more than two games.

Compare that to the likes of Johnathan Thurston (60.6) and Mitchell Pearce (59.2) and it’s a massive difference.

But it’s now the Storm’s worst start to a season since 2004 — two wins from five games.

LISTEN: Warren Smith, Matt Russell on the Round 5 talking points

Furthermore, it’s only the fourth time in their history they’ve had a losing record through the first five matches of a season: 2000 (1-4), 2001 (2-3) and 2004 (2-3).

So does coach Craig Bellamy stick with his 20-year-old halfback or opt for someone else?

“I really think Craig will stick with Croft,” Ennis said.

“Personally, on form, you’d imagine it wouldn’t be a bad thing for Croft to go back and find some confidence because Ryley Jacks has been really solid for them.

“Maybe that balances out (Cameron) Munster as well.

“But I think he will stick with (Croft), but I don’t know for how long.”

Welcome to Pressure Gauge.

JOHNATHAN THURSTON

It’s almost doesn’t seem right that someone of Johnathan Thurston’s ilk would appear in this piece.

But plenty has been said about the North Queensland superstar since his rocky return from a shoulder injury, and things peaked on Saturday when rugby league legend Greg Alexander said that Thurston looked like “someone that’s possibly played the game a little bit too long”.

Thurston’s a champion and you can expect him to respond like one — his 14th-placed side need him to.

PARRAMATTA EELS

The only team left winless after five rounds, the Eels needs a victory and fast.

They’ve now slumped to their worst start to a season since 1991, and the prospect of playing finals football is already fading with only one team in the NRL era (Broncos, 1999) having made the playoffs after an 0-5 record.

“It’s the Eels’ fluency in attack which they’re really struggling with,” Fox League expert Braith Anasta said on Sunday.

“It’s in the key moments. They’ve had a couple of opportunities where they should’ve scored tries.

“They’ve got to ice those key moments, they haven’t done it for the first five rounds now.”

Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover are joined by Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan to chat about the club’s new recruits and plans for the future.

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BRYCE CARTWRIGHT

All eyes will be on the Gold Coast forward when he plays his first game at Panthers Stadium since leaving Penrith in February.

Cartwright’s had a slow start to the season, but showed glimpses of his best in the Titans’ upset win over Manly on Sunday.

He’ll no doubt be looking to repeat his efforts against his old side.

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