Depth signings will be the order of business for the Melbourne Storm as they head into the 2026 NRL recruitment period.
There are still plenty of questions for the club to answer around the players they have off-contract, but even with them, this is a side who are locked and loaded for success.
And success is a regular occurrence in the Victorian capital.
Back in the grand final this year, where they came up short against the Penrith Panthers, Craig Bellamy, who was seemingly finished as a coach a few years ago, is continuing on.
And that, even without knowing his internal dialogue, is almost undoubtedly because the Victorian club are only one or two key pieces away from being able to once again lift the Provan-Summons trophy.
We will run the rule over all 17 clubs on Zero Tackle in the lead-up to November 1 to determine who their top targets are. Today, the Storm…
Current 2026 Melbourne Storm squad
Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Shawn Blore, Joe Chan, Xavier Coates, Sua Fa'alogo, Harry Grant, Jack Howarth, Jahrome Hughes, Eliesa Katoa, Alec MacDonald, Nick Meaney, Cameron Munster, Stefano Utoikamanu, Will Warbrick, Stanley Huen (dev.), Jai Bowden (dev.)
Off-contract at the end of 2025
Grant Anderson, Bronson Garlick, Tui Kamikamica, Trent Loiero, Ryan Papenhuyzen, Lazarus Vaalepu, Christian Welch (mutual option), Tyran Wishart (club option)
Current best 17 for 2026
1. Sua Fa'alogo
2. Xavier Coates
3. Nick Meaney
4. Jack Howarth
5. Will Warbrick
6. Cameron Munster
7. Jahrome Hughes
8. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
9. Harry Grant
10. Stefano Utoikamanu
11. Shawn Blore
12. Eliesa Katoa
13. Alec MacDonald
Interchange
14. Stanley Huen
15. Joe Chan
16. No player signed
17. No player signed
What becomes clear looking at Melbourne's current best 17 for 2026 is that they have an excellent starting 13 but still a number of key pieces short on the interchange bench and throughout their squad.
There are a couple of players they will most likely re-sign in the coming weeks, with Tyran Wishart at the head of the list - we are going to assume he will be at Melbourne for 2026 at the very least, given the club has an option in their favour.
Other forwards will also likely be on the list, with youngster Lazarus Vaalepu potentially the key re-signing target as he becomes a first-grade regular over the coming 24 months.
Ryan Papenhuyzen's future also remains clouded, but that won't impact targets in recruitment for the club - Sua Fa'alogo is locked in.
The centres and forwards - mainly for role players - ultimately look to be where the Storm will focus.
The Storm won't be sold on their centres long-term at this stage. Jack Howarth is an elite talent, but whether that is in the centres or at second row remains to be seen. Nick Meaney has done a fantastic job since shuffling to the centres, but their depth is very skinny right now.
Money is also going to be tight, so heading out and signing Kotoni Staggs or Will Penisini, for example, looks like an unlikely, bordering on impossible play.
The guy they may well target is Bronson Xerri.
Returning from his drug suspension this year, the centre was fantastic for the Bulldogs. His attitude - at least in every public appearance - was also something that could well fit in within Bellamy's side.
He attacks strongly, runs the ball hard and tackles well. He is the sort of player who has turned himself into someone plenty of clubs will want.
The Storm constantly look for players they will be able to mould into their system, particularly in the forwards.
Hazelton seems to be one they could model into their own.
A breakout player at the Cronulla Sharks this year, he should become a permanent part of Craig Fitzgibbon's side in 2025 but is yet to sign on with the men from the Shire beyond that.
At 198 centimetres tall and weighing in at 116 kilograms, the Goulburn-born forward also brings a major point of difference with him onto the park.
Expect there to be a scramble for his services.
Sticking with the trend of middle forwards - an area the Storm clearly need to add depth to their squad - Joe Ofahengaue could be another they target.
Money, as we have already talked about, is going to be tight for the men from the Victorian capital.
Ofahengaue is a forward who brings experience - both at the club and representative level as a former Queensland State of Origin player - and plenty of ability.
At his best - which has been sorely lacking during his stint at the Wests Tigers before he shuffled to the Parramatta Eels in the middle of 2023 - he is good enough to be part of the 17 at any club in the competition.
He is also the sort of player you just know Bellamy will get the best out of.
Adam Elliott has turned himself into one of the competition's most tenacious players in recent seasons.
A hard-hitting, hard-working lock, second-rower and hooker, he is the sort of player plenty of clubs will be after from November 1 and is just one of a host of players who has been reportedly told he won't be re-signed by the Knights as they look to get their own bloated salary cap in hand.
Elliott won't break the bank, but he certainly could be something of a game-breaker on the field, as he has been in recent times for the Knights and, before that, the Raiders.
His versatility should make him a priority target for the Storm, who could certainly do with a little bit more of that on their interchange bench from week to week, while Elliott would also shape as the first man in through several positions if an injury struck.
In the same way that Xerri - who we discussed as the first possible target on this list - runs the ball hard and has a positive attitude, Hopoate ticks the same boxes if Melbourne were weighing up potential candidates to join their backline in 2026.
What Hopoate also brings is versatility.
He has the ability to play centre, fullback and wing, which is something that could well speak to Melbourne. Their depth in all of those positions, as it stands at least, is skinny. Ryan Papenhuyzen's future not being locked in means they could sign themselves a backup fullback without being locked into only that position.
Hopoate was at one time rated as one of the most talented young players in the game. Injuries have held him back from reaching that potential, but his last 12 or so months have been the best of his career, and there is little to no doubt that he should have plenty of clubs on his tail from November 1.