Despite his leaps forward in Philadelphia, Ryan Papenhuyzen is shaping up to miss the early rounds of the 2023 season, forcing a reshuffle of Melbourne's backline.
The Storm were a magnet for injury woes last year, losing the likes of Papenhuyzen, Christian Welch, George Jennings and Reimis Smith to season-ending injuries as the club struggled to keep their head above water at times.
Forced to loan David Nofoaluma just to be able to name a backline, Melbourne have a few more reinforcements to back-up their back five in 2023, meaning Craig Bellamy can resist shifting Cameron Munster into the No. 1 jersey.
It opens the door for Nick Meaney at fullback, who played 11 games as a custodian in his maiden season in Melbourne.
Munster, who debuted as a fullback in 2014, scored a hat-trick against the Titans when shifted to the back last season, however returning front-rower Christian Welch believes he's needed in the halves.
“He's one of the best five-eighths in the world and I think that's where he plays his best footy,” Storm prop Christian Welch told the NCA NewsWire.
“We've got some really good options at the back. Nick Meaney has been fantastic for us. He can play so many positions for us and he's a really good footballer with a set of wheels on him.
“He's been training at fullback for basically the whole pre-season. We know Paps won't get up for the start of the season, so I think Meaney will be there.
“The big premise is that we need Cameron Munster touching the ball a lot in all of our games. We need him running and taking the line on as much as possible.”
Tyran Wishart also spent time at the back last season, however, it's clear that Meaney is shaping as the best option for the role while Papenhuyzen is sidelined.
Teenager Sua Fa'alogo has impressed Welch through the off-season, but the youngster appears too raw to slot into the backline just yet.
“I don't think we'll see him in Round 1, but he's an electric local Victorian kid who we need to sign for the next 10 years because he's a phenomenal talent,” Welch said.
“I think he's going to be a very good player for a very long time.”
Melbourne will start the pre-season challenge against the Roosters in a fortnight before attempting to preserve Craig Bellamy's unbeaten two-decade Round 1 streak against Parramatta.
