Melbourne will enter the State of Origin period in their best position to strike since 2012, after reclaiming top spot on the NRL ladder.
The Storm have a two-point lead at the top over Brisbane, Cronulla and the Sydney Roosters following a gutsy 14-6 win over South Sydney in Perth on Sunday night.
At 9-2, it marks the first time they have had a win in hand over their opponents at the beginning of the Origin period since they last won the competition five years ago.
But according to captain Cameron Smith, they're still a long way from their best football.
"It just seems like every week we're putting a lot more pressure on ourselves," Smith said.
"It's something we haven't done all that well this year - apply pressure consistently to the opposition.
"I was still a little frustrated with our ball control and our handling. It's not from expansive football ... It's mostly just basic football in the play the ball."
The Storm will likely lose four players to Queensland selection, with Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Will Chambers and Smith all considered certainties.
They play two games without their Origin stars, one against the equally impacted North Queensland and the other opposing the likely unaffected Parramatta.
They will also have to deal with the fatigue on their ageing bodies, with Chambers the only member of the quartet aged under 30 - and even he is 28.
Melbourne were the third team to claim top spot on the ladder over the weekend, after the Broncos and Sharks both laid claim to it after their early-round matches.
Cronulla were short-lived ladder leaders after they overcame a 14-point half-time deficit to beat North Queensland 18-14 at home on Thursday night.
But the Broncos joined them at 8-3 and with a far superior for-and-against when they put the cleaners through the Wests Tigers in a 36-0 flogging on Friday night.
The Roosters then joined them both on 16 points and in fourth place, after they survived a late comeback to beat Canterbury 24-18 on Sunday afternoon.
The loss sent the Bulldogs out of the top eight.
St George Illawarra are fifth, courtesy of a 30-14 win over the Warriors on Friday night.
Manly are sixth after they overcame the Gold Coast by 20 points, even without injured fullback Tom Trbojevic.
Canberra and Penrith got their seasons back on track with fighting wins over Parramatta and Newcastle respectively.
