Melbourne veteran pairing Dale Finucane and Jesse Bromwich have been appointed as co-captains at the Storm for the 2021 season.

With Cameron Smith yet to decide on his future in the NRL, the forward pairing of Finucane and Bromwich will be elevated from joint vice-captains to sharing the role as successor to Smith.

Smith first took on the proverbial captain's armband in 2005 and will now make way for the incoming duo, who will bring close to 450 NRL games to the club's leading role.

Finucane first joined the Storm from Canterbury for the 2015 season and has played 135 matches for Melbourne, winning 99 games since arriving at AAMI Park.

Bromwich started his NRL career with Melbourne in 2010 and has gone on to play 248 matches in purple since, becoming a club great of the modern era under coach Craig Bellamy.

"Jesse and Dale were identified some time ago as possible future captains of our club," Bellamy told the club website.

"Through our leadership program, they have progressed and developed their leadership skills, especially in the last couple of years, and have had a great captain to learn from in Cameron Smith, who was a wonderful leader of our team for so many years."

"I’ve no doubt he has been the best captain the game has seen in modern times.

"With it now being very unlikely that Cameron will be part of Storm this year, now is the right time to promote Dale and Jesse to the joint captaincy role to take our club into the future."

Kenny Bromwich, Cameron Munster, Felise Kaufusi and Christian Welch will serve in Bellamy's 2021 leadership group alongside Finucane and Bromwich.