The Melbourne Storm have been a picture of consistency in the NRL for as long as Craig Bellamy has been at the helm.

Through various periods of transformation, plenty of calls that they were about to sink and a host of other issues, the last time Melbourne missed the finals for non salary cap related reasons was 2002 - also the last time Bellamy wasn't the coach of the men in purple.

So much have we come to expect of the Storm that 2024 saw the club widely regarded to be well short of their best, despite the fact they made a preliminary final.

There were certainly some big question marks throughout the course of last season, mostly around their forwards and leadership, but certainly issues in the spine weren't completely non-existent.

Some of those same questions lay in front of the Melbourne-based club heading into 2024.

Here are the five big ones.

2. Where does Meaney fit in?

Prior to becoming Papenhuyzen's replacement throughout the 2023 campaign, Meaney had become Craig Bellamy's mr. Fix It during the start of his time in Melbourne.

Long gone are the days of Meaney being a specialist winger, which was of course the position he had held during his time at the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Instead, he turned into a genuine backline utility, able to play at the back, in the halves, or on the edges.

The bottom line is that Meaney will have a spot in this side somewhere. He has barely played a bad game since he arrived in the Victorian capital.

Given Will Warbrick and Xavier Coates had exceptional 2023 seasons though, it seems unlikely Meaney will be able to find a home on the wing.

That means it's time for another new position, with Meaney likely lining up in the centres. Melbourne have lost Justin Olam from their roster, but Reimis Smith was out of favour at the back-end of 2023, while Young Tonumaipea, Grant Anderson and Marion Seve are the other options.

It would be of great surprise to see two of those players ahead of Meaney for a spot in the 17, with Smith and Tonumaipea the likely duo fighting to join him in Bellamy's side.