Craig Bellamy has warned Melbourne they will be blown off the park by Penrith in their top-of-the-table NRL showdown if they don't improve on their 28-16 win over South Sydney.
One month out from the finals, Ryan Papenhuyzen showed the first real glimpses of his best football as the Storm officially ended South Sydney's slim finals hopes at Accor Stadium on Thursday night.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona also had his best game of the year, playing 68 minutes on an edge, with the at-times out-of-sorts forward barging through three men for a first-half try.
But Melbourne know they must be much better against Penrith next Thursday night, in a potential grand final preview that will likely decide the minor premiership.
The Storm led 26-4 early in the second half after dominating the ruck and rolling through the middle with quick play-the-balls, before becoming riddled with errors from that point on.
"If we do that next week, the bloke up in the scoreboard is going to be busy on one side," Bellamy said.
"And it won't be our side.
"We're just lacking some consistency at the moment, and it continued again tonight."
Still, there were positives for Melbourne, with halfback Jahrome Hughes again having a hand in two tries and Asofa-Solomona's return to form.
And then there was Papenhuyzen, who has struggled for consistent time on the field after two years marred by injuries and fresh questions being asked over his future.
The fullback scored a try when he loomed up on the inside to finish a Tyran Wishart bust, as Melbourne benefited from regular quick play-the-balls through the middle.
The 2020 Clive Churchill Medallist's best was still to come, when he took a ball on his own 30-metre line in the second half and split Richie Kennar and Jacob Gagai.
From there the 26-year-old sprinted down field to put winger Grant Anderson over, giving Melbourne fans a glimpse of what could be ahead.
Papenhuyzen was far from perfect, also throwing an intercept for rookie Souths winger Fletcher Myers to score and dropping a simple kick in the second half.
And while questions remain over his future with rising star Su'a Faalogo looming at the Storm, there is no question that Melbourne need Papenhuyzen at his best if they are to challenge Penrith for this season's premiership.
“I’m not quite sure if he was at top pace,” Storm coach Craig Bellamy said.
“With all due respect, he’s had a lot of bad injuries and he’s never going to be at that pace because they’ve all been leg injuries so he’s not going to have that pace that he had four or five years ago.
“With his footy smarts and his experience, that makes up for it. It was nice to see him striding out again, and hopefully he can continue on that line.”
For Souths, they at least have a month now to show some fight before Wayne Bennett's return as coach this summer.
"Every time we put a Souths jersey on, we represent something bigger than ourselves, and we want to represent that never-say-die attitude,'' captain Cameron Murray said.
"We want to fight to the end. That's what we stand for."
