The Melbourne Storm had their pants pulled down during the 2023 finals series, and without a great deal of talent on the way in for 2024, it could be November 1 which paves the way for the club to add the pieces they need.

Salary cap, as with any club hosting a massive big four like the Storm do, is going to be an issue.

But if there is any club that have a track record of being able to sign players without prior success and turn them into stars playing well above their value, then it is the Storm.

Their own recruitment, as it seemed to be last year, and has been again over the last 12 months, has seemingly been impacted though by the lingering doubt which hangs over Craig Bellamy, who is on a year to year deal to remain coach of the successful Victorian-based outfit.

But what can the Storm realistically hope to achieve, and what do they desperately need when the clock strikes November 1?

In this series, Zero Tackle are running the rule over every club and their top five targets for November 1

Current squad for 2025
Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Xavier Coates, Sua Fa'alogo, Bronson Garlick, Harry Grant, Jack Howarth, Jahrome Hughes, Tui Kamikamica, Eliesa Katoa, Josh King, Trent Loiero, Alec MacDonald, Cameron Munster, Justin Olam, Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jonah Pezet, Lazarus Vaalepu, Will Warbrick, Christian Welch, Tyran Wishart

Current best 17 for 2025
1. Ryan Papenhuyzen
2. Xavier Coates
3. Justin Olam
4. Jack Howarth
5. Will Warbrick
6. Cameron Munster
7. Jahrome Hughes
8. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
9. Harry Grant
10. Tui Kamikamica
11. Eliesa Katoa
12. Trent Loiero
13. Josh King
14. Bronson Garlick
15. Tyran Wishart
16. Alec MacDonald
17. Christian Welch

Players not in 17: Jonah Pezet, Sua Fa'alogo

Players off-contract at end of 2024
Tom Eisenhuth, Nick Meaney, Aaron Pene, Marion Seve, Reimis Smith

Here are five players available to negotiate on November 1 from outside of the club the Storm could target for 2025 and beyond.

EVERY PLAYER OFF-CONTRACT AT THE END OF 2024

4. Euan Aitken

We will touch on the plight of centres in Melbourne a little later in this piece, but the fact of the matter is they simply haven't been up to scratch throughout 2023.

That, it would be fair to say, leaves a lot of questions around the future of the Melbourne three-quarters and where they may look to focus some energy from November 1 in revitalising certain areas of the squad.

The added ability Aitken brings, though is that he isn't just a centre and has the ability to potentially knock two birds out with one stone if he were to join the Storm.

Melbourne doesn't need starting second-rowers, though. Trent Loiero and Eliesa Katoa are both on contract through 2025.

But if Aitken isn't going to crack the starting centres, he could still play from the bench with multiple positions up his sleeve and is good enough to start at either.

This, to me, seems a no-brainer for the Storm.