"Really good position": Could the Storm make finals?

It's said that history never repeats, but it often rhymes.

And that certainly could be said about the 2025 Penrith Panthers and the 2026 Melbourne Storm teams.

After being at the bottom of the ladder at Round 12 last year, the Panthers' dynasty of four straight premierships appeared to reach its conclusion.

Instead, they rallied to win nine straight matches and qualified for finals with an Adam Reynolds last-minute conversion in the prelim, separating them from a sixth straight Grand Final appearance.

This year, the Storm appear to be on a similar trajectory.

Despite winning their first two games, the club went on a record-breaking seven-game losing streak, which saw them slide to 16th on the ladder, only saved by a winless Dragons side.

But having won five of their last six games, the Storm are just one win off from the top eight with two byes left.     

And with their rise up the ladder, Perth Bears assistant coach, Ben Gardiner believes the club is more than capable of following Penrith's lead by finishing within the top eight.

“They're not as far behind as what Penrith were at the start (of) last year, so they don't have to dig as deep to get out of the hole,” Gardiner told SEN’s Front Office with Vossy.

“They're in a really good position. They've won three on the trot.

“I think that a number of teams are gonna have some fear coming up against Melbourne because in the back of your mind when you play Melbourne, you're playing that gritty, strong team with a super strong spine that can break the game open at any moment.

“And I think some teams will be living in fear of that, particularly the way Harry Grant's going at the moment.”

Gardiner then focused on their spine, believing they pose a very dangerous threat with all four members finding form.

“You look at (Cam) Munster, and Munster was poor at the start of the year,” he continued.

“Now he's grown his way into Origin, so he's playing really well when it counts, so he's gonna carry that into the back of the year and that confidence.

 “Harry Grant was amazing. It was 16-0, and then when Harry Grant came on, it was 42-4. What a difference that makes in the game.

“And I just want to talk about (Jahrome) Hughes.

"So, you talk about Hughes being a little bit quiet, but if you go back to sort of around Round 10, Round 11, Round 12, he was leading the try assists and the line break assists in the competition for a team that was going reasonably poorly.

“So, like what sort of impact is he gonna have when his forwards start to go forward, and they build some momentum out of the backfield, he's gonna be amazing.

“So, you put those three together and then add the brilliance of Sua Fa’alogo in there…very dangerous.”

The Storm will travel up to Manly to face the Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night.

Kick off takes place at 7:35pm AEST.