In just under six weeks, Storm centre Ryan Morgan has gone from being signed as an injury replacement to becoming a starting centre in a team full of some of the game's biggest names.
Morgan was at Parramatta until early May before the Storm signed the 26-year-old for the rest of the 2016 season, and Morgan admits the past couple of months has been a bit of a whirlwind for him.
"It's been a strange couple of months but the boys and the coaching staff are helping me settle in here, and I've been loving every moment so it's been great," Morgan said.
"Everything that's been said about [this club] is true. It's well run, it's a very professional organisation and you can definitely feel the culture down here, it's a very winning culture and it's a really tight culture.
"Down in Melbourne I guess they recruit a lot of players from the outside, so when people come down here they're really focused on the footy and there is no real outside distractions."
Given the horrid run of injuries in Melbourne this season, Morgan was added to the squad to bolster the depth of the club but was called up to the first grade side after just one game with the Storm's feeder club on the Sunshine Coast.
Morgan admitted his fitness levels weren't at their best during his reserves hit-out but knew he had to jump at the opportunity when a first-grade spot came calling.
"I don't know that I was expecting [a call up so soon], but I know when I came down here the club had a lot of injuries especially in the outside backs, so I suppose I knew my chances were high considering how many injuries they had, and it just happened to work out that way, and I just wanted to grab it with both hands," he said.
"I'm still trying to find a role and the attack is still coming, but I've been pretty happy with my defence over the last few weeks.
"I'm still looking to form combinations with the guys and that's probably going to take a little while longer because those sort of things don't happen overnight, but I'm looking forward to the challenge for the rest of the year."
One partnership that Morgan won't have to work on too much is his combination with winger Suliasi Vunivalu, who currently leads the league in tries scored this season with 13 from just eight games.
"Just give him the ball and half a sniff, and he's going to take it," Morgan said of Vunivalu.
"He's been a great try scorer for us, and that's what you want from your wingers, give them half a sniff and they're in and he's been doing that."
