Finucane surges for Melbourne Storm

Dale Finucane says a move to Melbourne Storm has him feeling less frantic on the NRL field and more relaxed off it.

Dale Finucane has become a busier NRL player since joining Melbourne, but the much-improved forward is no longer feeling frantic on the field.

Finucane played in the 2012 and 2014 grand finals with Canterbury then joined the Storm for their 2015 campaign.

Finucane's reasons were easy to understand - he wanted to play more minutes and stop being a bench player.

The 23-year-old has already ticked both boxes.

Finucane has featured in all nine rounds, averaging 55 minutes and grabbing his chance as the Storm's starting lock.

Good judges suggest both the quality and quantity of Finucane's output is up this year and the bashful Bega product can only agree.

"I guess so. I guess that comes with a bit more time on the park," he said.

"I used to feel more frantic when I only had a small amount of time to work in.

"It was a bit of the unknown last year ... some games I played 25 minutes and other games I had 60 minutes.

"It's hard to know how you're going to attack the game if you don't know how long you'll be on the park for."

The added responsibility of a regular start is also working wonders for Finucane's confidence.

"Obviously at the Bulldogs we had established guys there playing the bigger minutes," he said.

"Up there before games I was a little bit more ... agitated's not the right word. I don't know how to describe it.

"But now I feel a bit more relaxed, knowing I'll be starting the game and playing as long as I can."

Finucane crossed for his first try in Storm colours last Sunday, providing the icing on a 28-10 away win over Parramatta.

Next comes the challenge of an imposing South Sydney pack at home on Saturday.

"They've got a lot of big boys in their team. The go-forward is going to be one of the big things we need to stop.

"If we can nullify some of their big men, that will help a lot."


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Source: AAP


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