'Furthest I've gone in a season': Why Sims craves Storm title

Tariq Sims has played 13 seasons in the NRL and represented NSW in Origin but the Storm’s preliminary final against Penrith at Accor Stadium will be the closest he has come to premiership glory.

It’s why Sims endured months of cycling, swimming and gym work just to be able to train with his new team-mates in Melbourne earlier this year.

It's also why he will begin warming up 10 minutes before the other Storm players on Friday night.

And it's the reason the 33-year-old forward wants to ink a new deal to remain in Melbourne after previous stints with the Cowboys, Knights and Dragons.

“My goal is to win a premiership here,” Sims told NRL.com. “That’s something that you dream of as a little kid.

“This is my 13th or 14th year of playing first grade and I haven’t won one. This week is the furthest I have ever advanced in my whole career.”

Yet playing in a grand final qualifier seemed a long way off for Sims as he battled a pre-season calf injury that sidelined him until Round 3.

After two NRL appearances for his new club, he found himself playing the first of seven Queensland Cup matches with Brisbane Tigers.

“It was obviously very frustrating, but I never lost confidence in what I can and can't do,” Sims said.

“The coaching staff, along with the physio staff, just reinforced the times and the turnarounds, and I just had to go back to square one, bide my time and do my work so I could get fit to get out on the paddock.

“Rest is one of the most important things, especially with soft tissue injuries, along with hydration and things like that.

“I just had to really knuckle down and find other ways to keep fit and start moving my body around, by bike riding, swimming and low impact machines like skiers and rowers with high intensity.

It was very hard. They are the ones everyone hates.

"It was a couple of months before I could start running again and when you start running you have got to drip feed your way back into it.

“Even now there is a still a lot of prep that I have to do. My warm-up is about 10 minutes longer than everyone else’s warm-up because I like to make sure I tick all of the boxes. so that my body is ready to perform at a high standard.”

Nothing less would be acceptable at Melbourne and Sims said the professionalism and work ethic the Storm is renowned for begins at the top, with coach Craig Bellamy and GM of football Frank Ponissi.

“It has been eye-opening,” Sims said. “The Storm are just one of those clubs where you have to be in the inner sanctum to really get it.

“You hear stories about the things that the Melbourne Storm do but until you live and breathe it day in and day out … it is like no other club that I have ever been to. You train just as hard, but you train at a different intensity

“It is not only Belsa but his coaching staff, as well. They work just as hard as us, with long training days and long nights with video. They break everything down, and they just drill it into us from whatever day we start until now. It is just ruthless.”

After overcoming the injury setbacks, Sims is determined to keep playing and believes that if the Storm fall short of an unlikely premiership – given the big name players they lost this season – he will have another shot next season.

“I’m 33-years-old but I still feel like I have got a lot to give in the NRL,” Sims said. “We are talking at the moment, and I’d love to stay.

“The club's got so many young players who are quality players and they've got a lot of experience this year so moving forward that’s what’s really exciting, but this year’s not finished yet.”