The AFL is commonly known as a Victorian-centric sport, but in a twist of fate, it seems the Melbourne football team most likely to win a premiership this season hails from the NRL, with the Storm firming as title favourites.
After a dominant win over the Sharks, the Storm are in the midst of a well-earned week off, before they face the winner of Roosters vs Sea Eagles for a spot in the grand final.
As the team continues its preparation, they couldn't help but notice that only one of the four remaining AFL teams in their finals were Melbourne based, with skipper Harry Grant unable to resist taking a cheeky dig at their cross-code counterparts Geelong.
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Storm hoping to steal AFL's footy finals thunder
Melbourne is an Aussie rules town through and through, but Storm captain Harry Grant is hoping to convert them to rugby league, if only for the rest of the season.
With just two wins standing between them and another premiership trophy, Grant told media that he is keen to get the city behind the Storm to cap what has been an incredibly dominant run so far.
"In Melbourne, it’s only the Geelong Cats left," Grant said of the AFL finals.
"Hopefully we can give the Melbournians something to talk about, switch over to some rugby league for the next few weeks."
The Storm themselves will be one of just four remaining teams come the end of this weekend, as they and the Penrith Panthers moved straight through to the preliminary finals, something they did not take for granted.
"We’re training, not too many teams are training at this time of year, so you just got to enjoy it and take some confidence out of it," he said.
"Not many teams are left, so it's a real privilege for me to still be standing here.
"I think that’s important, I don’t think we can look too far ahead… we’ll just enjoy that we’re still alive at this time of the year but prepare well and prepare to take our game to the next level, individually and as a team."
