NRL finals: Melbourne Storm stars open up on the unflinching standards which fuel their stunning success

One of the Melbourne Storm’s established stars has opened up on why the ultra-successful Victorian club takes avoiding defeat so seriously.

Ryan Papenhuyzen and Felise Kaufusi celebrate more success for the Storm. Picture: Bradley Kanaris / Getty Images

When tough as teak forward Felise Kaufusi describes a Melbourne loss as “like someone had just died”, you begin to understand why the Storm doesn’t lose very often.

Ahead of their preliminary final showdown with the Penrith Panthers on Saturday night, Kaufusi and co-captain Jesse Bromwich have provided insight into why losing a football game is taken very seriously at the Storm.

No surprise, considering they’ve lost just three games all year, including Kaufusi’s 150th NRL game in the 22-10 loss to the Eels when they were chasing a history-making 20 wins in a row.

“Even losing a regular game, it feels like somebody has died around the club … and it’s only a bloody game,” Kaufusi said.

“We train that hard and set the standards so high.

“I don‘t know, maybe we take it to heart a bit more. After that milestone game against the Eels, it felt like someone had dead set died in the changeroom afterwards. Something we don’t take lightly is losing.”

At Suncorp Stadium, co-captain Jesse Bromwich will line up in his ninth preliminary final. He‘s lost just three – to the Warriors in 2011, the Cowboys in 2015 and to the Raiders in 2019.

The loss in 2011 still cuts just as deep as the one in 2019. He can still remember them like yesterday.

“I have lost three. In 2011 to the Warriors, that was a tough one,” Bromwich said.

“There were a few of my mates in the Warriors team, like Shaun Johnson, Lewis Brown, Russell Packer and Ben Matulino, and that was the first time I had lost a big game.

“Craig [Bellamy] puts this feeling in you where you feel like you are going to win every game and to not win, you feel like you have let him down.

Felise Kaufusi in action for Melbourne Storm. Picture: Bradley Kanaris / Getty Images

“It has definitely driven me and I think that is what drove us to win the grand final the next year [in 2012].

“In 2019 … that was a pretty tight game. John Bateman picked up the ball [and scored]. You remember those moments for the rest of your life.”

Bromwich said his focus was solely on the Panthers, but winning his fourth grand final is the ultimate prize he has his sights on. The Storm’s loss to the Sharks in the 2016 decider still grates with the Kiwi international.

“They are very hard to win. You can’t be happy with just getting there,” he said.

“You have to realise that you can lose as well. I didn‘t know in 2016 that you could lose.

“That sounds stupid, but I was just heartbroken after the game. It is a special event and you have to treat it that way.”

That hatred of losing and love of winning rubs off on new recruits as well.

Kaufusi pointed to centre Reimis Smith, who has won 21 of the 24 games he has played this year, including his first ever final against Manly. Smith has had more wins this year than in his five seasons with Canterbury.

“I was talking to Reimis about whether he‘d played a finals game and he laughed at me,” Kaufusi said.

“He said, ‘I’m usually on Mad Monday at this time.’ He’s bought into what the club is all about and is now one of the best centres in the comp.

“Craig just makes you work hard. He just wants the best out of you and as long as you buy in, then the more you put in and the more you get out.”

Originally published as NRL finals: Melbourne Storm stars open up on the unflinching standards which fuel their stunning success