Melbourne playmaker Cameron Munster feels he's yet to return to peak form but is hoping to lift a notch in their Magic Round battle with Parramatta.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Both teams are coming off a loss, with the Storm falling 25-18 to Cronulla in a top-of-the-table clash, which was their second defeat of the season, while the Eels lost to Brisbane 30-14.
Partnering Tyran Wishart in the halves in the absence of the injured Jahrome Hughes (calf), Munster set up two of Melbourne's tries but was otherwise relatively quiet against the Sharks.
The 29-year-old didn't start the season until round five due to a persistent groin injury and six games in he felt that he was still to hit his straps.
He said he needed to lift against the Eels to get Melbourne back on track, while State of Origin was only three weeks away.
"I've got a long way to go with certain things that I want to do in the game," said Munster, ahead of their Suncorp Stadium clash on Sunday afternoon.
"I'm not where I want to be so I've just got to focus on myself and focus on getting this Storm team humming before the back end of the year.
"At the moment we're probably not limping, but we're building slowly and unfortunately I feel like we've got to stop building and start getting our combinations together and then start really clicking."
Parramatta are missing Mitchell Moses but Storm coach Craig Bellamy said that even without the star halfback, who hasn't played since fracturing his foot in round three, the 13th-placed Eels could be a handful.
"There's a couple of things in how they play, they're certainly pretty adventurous with the ball so we need to be aware of that but we're just trying to fix the things up that we weren't so good at last week," Bellamy said following Saturday's captain's run.
"The way we started the second half wasn't great, so we need to be better there."
Fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen (leg) also remains sidelined, with youngster Sua Faalogo getting his second start in the No.1 jersey.
Skipper Harry Grant felt the new combinations would improve in their second outing.
"Hughesy, Paps and Xavier (Coates) have probably been three of our best players all year and I think the guys that stepped into their positions did a really good job," he said.
"We're only going to be better for giving them that opportunity and having them bring their game to the team."
"There's a lot of belief and confidence still in our group, but there's a whole lot of of work that we can improve on."
Australian Associated Press
