The Melbourne Storm enter the 2026 NRL season as unstable as they have been in many years.
Craig Bellamy's side might have made two straight grand finals, but a pair of losses and squad turnover during the off-season will leave more questions than answers as they prepare for the new campaign.
Ryan Papenhuyzen, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Jonah Pezet have all departed, among others, while their signings leave a little to be desired in replacing those names.
The squad is still a strong one, although selection questions heading into the new year will certainly challenge Bellamy and his coaching staff.
Here are the key issues that could shape the discussion for the Victorian-based outfit as they surge towards Round 1, although with plenty of spots left to fill in their Top 30 (officially, at least), things could shuffle.
What will the makeup of the bench be?
It's fairly clear that Melbourne will kick off their season with Josh King and Stefano Utoikamanu at prop, Trent Loiero at lock, and Shawn Blore in the second-row, while Harry Grant will be at hooker.
Who the other second-rower is remains to be seen. It could well be Jack Howarth; otherwise, one of Joe Chan or Ativalu Lisati is likely to play there.
It's a good bet that at least one of the remaining duo will feature on the bench, and so too will Tyran Wishart.
Alec MacDonald, who has proven himself as a real workhorse, then likely has one of the other spots sewn up.
Who else features, though, is up in the air. Mid-season recruit Josiah Pahulu from the Titans, and off-season recruit Hetherington from the Knights, are both in the mix, but so too is young forward Lazarus Vaalepu, who has impressed with his aggression to date.
