Melbourne will have to weather one of the biggest post-premiership storms if they want to become the first side to claim back-to-back NRL titles in 25 years.
Four members of Craig Bellamy's premiership-winning side played their last game for the club in Sunday's 34-6 flogging of North Queensland, headlined by Sydney-bound Cooper Cronk.
Kiwi international Tohu Harris will head to the Warriors, NSW State of Origin 18th man Jordan McLean moves north to the Cowboys and bench hooker Slade Griffin is expected to join Newcastle.
The quartet is the most of any premiership side since Melbourne's four lesser-known departees after their 2012 success, while champion fullback Billy Slater's future remains up in the air.
The losses also come after the Storm farewelled four players from last year's grand final side - including Kevin Proctor and Marika Koroibete - meaning almost half of their top team from the past two years have now left the club.
"I don't think that's happened to any club who has been in grand finals in consecutive years or been in grand finals two out of three years or two out of four years," Bellamy said.
"To lose eight players in two years out of grand final sides, that's not ideal. But that's just the way it is."
No team has won back-to-back premierships in a unified competition since Brisbane in 1992 and 1993.
And while the question gets asked every year of the NRL champions, surely no team is more likely to break that streak than Melbourne.
The Storm have now played in seven of the past 12 deciders, for two premierships and have had another two stripped due to salary cap breaches.
Their salary-cap destroyed season of 2010 is the only time they have missed the finals since Bellamy arrived in 2003.
Their 2017 premiership was also the most dominant of the NRL-era, with the club claiming 20 victories in the regular season and finishing three wins above their nearest competitor before sweeping the finals series.
And as Bellamy signed off from his final post-match press conference of the year, he sounded the most ominous warning to the team's rivals.
"The one thing I can guarantee is we will enjoy this for a little while and they'll get the break they deserve, but when they do come back it will be back into work again."
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