BY CURTIS WOODWARD

It is easy to forget James Maloney began his career at the Melbourne Storm back in 2009.

The little five-eigth played a handful of games at the Storm before making his name at the New Zealand Warriors.

Maloney’s former teammate, Storm half Cooper Cronk, says you can’t stop Maloney but you can limit his time with the ball.

“I think James needs a lot of credit for what he has done at the Cronulla Sharks football team this year,” Cronk said.

“James wasn’t at our club a long period of time but the one thing is that James must bring something special to a football team because each team he has been a part of he has made a Grand Final.

“He is a charismatic guy off the field but he is also a tenacious competitor and brings a lot of calmness to their football team.

“He’ll be a vital player in terms of the outcome of the game come Sunday, Craig will do his homework and hopefully we will have a plan to limit him because you can’t stop him, we’ll just try to limit his ability and influence.”

Maloney is Cronulla’s grand final veteran appearing in the 2011 decider for the Warriors before winning the premiership with the Sydney Roosters in 2013.

A strong performance from the Sharks pivot may see him picked for his first Australian Four Nations tour.

Maloney has come a long way since his days at the Storm where he watched from the sidelines as the Storm defeated Parramatta in the 2009 grand final before it was taken away for salary cap cheating.

@woodward_curtis