Melbourne’s ‘Big Three’ have got to slow down someday right? I mean we have been saying they have to since 2013, so they have to sometime, right? The short answer is no, they won’t.

The Melbourne Storm once again defied expectations in 2015, finishing in the top four when many expected them to start sliding down towards the bottom eight.

What was hilarious was they lost to teams coming last on the ladder a lot. They lost to the last placed Manly twice in Rounds 2 and 8, they lost to the last placed Cowboys in Round 4 and they managed to lose to the eventual wooden spooners the Knights in Round 24.

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But despite those losses they managed to secure fourth spot, upsetting the Roosters in the first week of the finals before being annihilated by eventual premiers the Cowboys in the qualifying finals.

Melbourne come into 2016 with a very similar side. Their big losses have been Ryan Hinchcliffe, Kurt Mann, Mahe Fonua and Matt Duffie. Their gains, however, have been Matthew White, Curtis Scott and Cheyse Blair. These are all stereotypical Craig Bellamy signings.

Will Melbourne be able to keep their run to the finals up on the back of the Big Three? Or will they finally show signs of ageing and miss the eight for the first time since 2010 (and that was due to cheating the cap)?

1. Billy Slater

2. Marika Koroibete

3. Will Chambers

4. Cameron Munster

5. Cheyse Blair

6. Blake Green

7. Cooper Cronk

8. Jesse Bromwich

9. Cameron Smith

10. Jordan McLean

11. Kevin Proctor

12. Tohu Harris

13. Dale Finucane

14. Kenny Bromwich

15. Tim Glasby

16. Christian Welch

17. Nelson Asofa-Solomona

Strengths

So I am not going to talk about the Big Three. It is pointless. We all know just how great Billy Slater is especially in attack. We all know that Cronk is one of, if not the best organiser in the game and the real leader of this side. And it is widely known that Cameron Smith is probably the best hooker of all time.

What I will say is that the Big Three will still fire despite their age. When those three are on the field, they always play incredibly well. They will retire before their form really starts to slide.



Marika Koroibete was Melbourne’s best buy for 2015. Coming into 2015 the wing situation was looking pretty dire for the club, with Matt Duffie being constantly injured and Sisa Waqa leaving the club. But Koroibete stepped up, and brought with him some fantastic form.

His ability to score tries off of bombs really proved valuable to the side and was a trademark attacking play for them. Needless to say, he will again provide a lot of service for this Melbourne squad.

Will Chambers is one of the best centres in the game. He is reluctant to pass, but the fact he is considered so good even with this deficiency just demonstrates his well-rounded play. His running game is top tier and he’s an auto-pick for Queensland.

Cameron Munster will partner Chambers in the centres and will form one of the better centre combinations in the league. He exploded onto the scene last year to replace Slater and played better than his more illustrious teammate.

Munster created linebreaks at a whim last year and was Melbourne’s best player for the second half of the season. He may be a natural fullback, but given his previous junior experience in the centres he will certainly be able to play there, and he needs too. He is too talented to keep out of the side.

Blake Green was another great buy for the much maligned club last season. Melbourne spent 2014 without a proper five-eighth after the loss of Gareth Widdop, but Green filled that hole very well. He worked incredibly well behind Cronk and started to perform as a live wire which really brought his side of the field to life offensively.

Opposition teams can no longer just smother Cronk on the last tackle anymore, like they did in 2014. Green not only has a good boot, but a very good short passing game and a decent ‘dummy and run’ which led to him scoring eight tries last year.

He will once again have a similar year, and force the opposition to not just focus all of their defence on Cronk on the last tackle.



Jesse Bromwich is one of the best props in the game. He is a starting prop for New Zealand and just eats up the metres. His total metres last year was the highest for a forward, and he can play huge minutes as well, which is something he is going to need to do with the bench Melbourne possess. Some people like to say that now it is ‘the big four’ and they include Bromwich as that last member.

Jordan McLean and Nelson Asofa-Solomona are also quite handy props as well. McLean may be famous for breaking Alex Mckinnon’s neck but he is a very solid forward, that gets through his work and does it well.

Asofa-Solomona is a giant of a kid. He is at the Shannon Boyd level of ‘a player who is too tall to actually tackle’, which allows him to power through opposition defence. He is by far and away the best player on this Melbourne bench.

I like the second rowers and lock for this side as well. Kevin Proctor, Tohu Harris and Dale Finucane all combine to form a very powerful back row. Proctor and Harris are both coming off of impressive seasons, and the combination these two have with their halves is rather underrated.

Craig Bellamy, what can I say about him that hasn’t already been said? He has only missed the finals once in his career, due to the fact that his team couldn’t win any points. Players always seem to improve at Melbourne, and that is no coincidence.

Bellamy can get the very best out of anyone, and just keeps overachieving year after year. There are rumours that 2016 will be his last year for the club and that he is going to call it a day since he is off-contract now (although he does have a clause which means he can stay on until 2018 if he wants).

I would be worried about that if I was a Melbourne fan. He is one of those coaches that you will never be able to replace. He has a 66 per cent win rate in over 300 games, which is just ridiculous.

Weaknesses

Cronk and Slater are both coming off injuries. Slater’s last game in State of Origin. I have heard a lot of conflicting reports about his fitness, some saying he is the fittest he has been in years, others saying he is really struggling. I don’t know which one to believe, but I do know that rumours of being injured are never a good thing.



Cheyse Blair sucks, pure and simple. He has his moments, and can deliver some powerful runs but I think he coats his hands in butter to warm up for every match. He just drops the ball constantly. He is also very lazy in defence.

You might say he is a stereotypical Bellamy signing, but players like Mahe Founa have shown that you can still suck even when you are coached by the best. And I have a feeling Blair will be one of those players, but the problem is he is their best option in this position. Everyone else is too crap or too young.

Here we get to the big problem with this side. The bench and the depth.

Unfortunately with the Big Three eating so much cap space there is no way Melbourne can have great players everywhere, without giving them all yachts anyway. So although most of their starting 13 is good, their bench is terrible and their depth is shockingly poor.

Apart from Asofa-Solomona, I don’t think any of those Melbourne bench players would make most sides. They really offer nothing at all, and Bellamy is quite aware of this. Look at how many minutes he makes his starting 13 play. He only subs his starters off to give them a break and puts them back on as soon as possible, because he knows the lack of ability his bench players possess.

And look at the depth. Who comes in for injuries to the forwards? Matthew White? White is not first-grade standard, nor is he even close. And what about injuries to the backs? And with both Cronk and Slater being very injury prone, the depth is going to be very important for this side.

Expectations

This is a side with one of the best spines in the business, a great starting forward pack and second row, decent outside backs and one of the greatest coaches of all time. It has depth and bench issues, but Craig Bellamy will find a way to work around it.

And let’s be honest, the Big Three aren’t going to slow down, and even if they do it will be by a tiny amount. I see them giving the premiership a real shake this year, finishing third in the regular season.



Conclusion

This is another club whose premiership window is coming to a close. After years of being at the top, their side is getting older. And when Slater, Cronk and Smith retire in two or so years, they are going to have to enter a rebuilding period.

These upcoming two seasons are going to be this club’s last chance at another premiership for a while, and I expect them to give it their best.