Melbourne Storm

Now, as they enter their 20th season in the competition, the Storm are considered one of the powerhouse clubs in Australian sport and will head into the 2017 Telstra Premiership as title favourites alongside the Penrith Panthers. 

But Storm assistant Adam O'Brien says it "won't be the end of the world" if the veteran fullback misses the start of the NRL season.

Melbourne are hopeful off-contract Slater can finally overcome a second straight shoulder reconstruction this season.

Koroibete's move to the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby side has left a big hole in the Storm's young backline.

Storm football director Frank Ponissi said that Victorian product Young Tonumaipea, ex-Wests Tigers flyer Josh Addo-Carr and centre Curtis Scott were in the running to fill the vacancy.

The 30-year-old Green was a key figure in the Storm's minor premiership win last season, but after a short stay in Melbourne opted to join bitter rivals the Sea Eagles on a lucrative two-year deal. 

The Storm released a brief statement regarding the incident.

"Melbourne Storm player, Shem Tatupu, was struck by a car on Monday night while crossing the road on Olympic Boulevard after training," the statement read.

"Players and staff were at the scene and immediately called an ambulance.

"Thankfully Shem has been cleared of any serious injury and is expected to be discharged from hospital in the coming days.

People love to say defence wins championships, despite the fact that a superior attack can completely dismantle it. Just ask the 2015 Broncos.

And that is what the Sharks will look to do against the Storm when they face off in the decider at Sydney's Olympic stadium on Sunday.

But before we try to decipher what will happen on Sunday, we have to look back at what went down between these two in 2016.

What happened this year?

Wins were split as these teams faced off in round four and round 26 of 2016.

A big second half from the home side saw them move to within one win of a grand final berth, as North Queensland will now host Brisbane next weekend in a rematch of last year's decider.

An early second half try to prop Jesse Bromwich would give the Storm a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as the Storm would quash the demons of last year's preliminary final loss to the Cowboys.

The opening 40 turned out to be a game of two halves, as Melbourne took it to the Cowboys from the outset and dominated the opening 20 minutes.

The emphatic victory saw the Storm reclaim first place on the ladder from Cronulla and they will hang on to it despite the fact the Sharks are yet to play their round-14 game.

Cronulla would have to beat reigning premiers North Queensland by more than 42 points on Monday night in what would be its 10th-straight win to take top spot back.

On Saturday night, the Storm looked every part worthy ladder leaders as long-serving stars Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk led them around the park.

Despite conceding in the opening 10 minutes the Storm kept the Panthers scoreless for the remainder of the game, much to coach Craig Bellamy's delight.

"I thought we were really strong defensively, they scored in the first 10 minutes, so to keep them scoreless for 70… it was outstanding," Bellamy said.

Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk both had a say in Queensland's 6-4 win over New South Wales in Origin I on Wednesday night and while Craig Bellamy is expecting his captain to take the field on Saturday, he's still unsure as to whether Cooper Cronk has recovered from an ankle injury suffered during Queensland's training camp.

"Cameron's come back and he looks like he's moving OK, so we'll see how he trains later today," Bellamy said.