Superstar St George Illawarra halfback Benji Marshall has praised the Melbourne Storm ahead of the playoffs, potentially the dark horses for the premiership.

“I just reckon they’re so clinical,” Marshall said on Fox Sports’ NRL 360.

“We played them a few weeks ago and we were the better side for the first 20 minutes of the game.

“They just hung in there, got to their kicks, completed their set and made us work out of our half and forced us into making an error.

“They’ve been like that for the last five or six years and that’s why they’re one of the best teams.”

The Storm host Newcastle on Monday night.