Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy believes the Storm's 54-point demolition of the Eels during the season will count for nothing when the two sides battle it out in a cut-throat final on Saturday night.
The minor premiers crushed the Eels 64-10 during the NRL Magic Round in May and will meet for a second time this season with a lot more on the line at AAMI Park this weekend.
The winner will travel to Sydney for a preliminary final match-up against the Roosters and Bellamy says that alone should be enough to motivate his players for the clash against the Eels.
"What has happened in the past doesn’t really matter now," Bellamy said on Wednesday.
"We would like it to happen like it did last time (in round nine), but we know it isn't going to be like that.
"The teams are different, the conditions are different and the stakes are a little bit higher."
One of the Storm's best players when the two teams met some four months ago was Curtis Scott.
Match Highlights: Storm v Eels
The out-of-favour centre ran for a game-high 262 metres and scored a superb individual try before breaking his leg late in the rout.
Bellamy has stuck with the same side that was defeated by the Raiders on the weekend, but says Scott remains in the mix should any of his players fail to recover in time for Saturday's showdown.
"We have picked him (Scott) in the 21 and everyone in the 21 is a chance of being in the team," Bellamy said.
Match: Storm v Eels
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Storm
1st Position
away Team
Eels
5th Position
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
"We have still got a few bumps and bruises, but we are pretty sure we haven’t go too much that is going to keep anyone out.
"Until our captain's run (on Friday) we won’t know for sure.
"We have got the 21 and any of those guys could be in the team."
The Storm enter Saturday's clash on the back of a disappointing 12-10 home loss to the Raiders and will be keen to make sure they bounce back to form quickly and keep their premiership dream alive.
Dropping out of the finals in straight sets is something Bellamy isn't really accustomed to, with the veteran coach having finished the season with consecutive losses just once (2013) during his 17-year reign in Melbourne.
But Bellamy isn't scared of that prospect and says the season won't be a wasted one if the Storm do fail to beat the Eels.
Smith: We're going the long way
"I don’t care what anybody says, this group has done a wonderful job this season,” he said.
"I don’t care what happens on the weekend and I hope that doesn’t come back to bite me, I am really proud of this group.
"We have worked really hard, we have stuck with each other and I think it has been a good and successful season."
