Never has a cliché been accorded so much importance in a sombre Storm dressing room as the one spoken by captain Cameron Smith, shortly after Melbourne’s loss to the Roosters in the preliminary final.

“There’s always next year,” the 36-year-old said, usually meant as a consoling comment but one which carries more significance due to doubts whether he will continue playing.

“Did he say what I think he said?” one of the Storm’s owners said to another, desperate for Smith to honour the second year of his last contract and then take on an assistant coaching role.

After all, he was one of the Storm’s best against the Roosters at the SCG on Saturday night and he deftly bridges the generation gap with a youthful team, playing young to set examples and playing old to exert leadership.