BY STAFF WRITERS

They train as hard as any team in the NRL and some of the pre-season stories out of Melbourne have become the thing of legend under master coach Craig Bellamy.

That’s why Storm skipper Cameron Smith is impressed by what he’s seen out of the team that fell to Cronulla in the 2016 grand final.

Smith has been back at training for four days while the rest of the team has been hard at it since returning after Christmas.

“(Pre-season) is always tough, this time of year is when we put the hard work in for a strong year,” the legendary hooker told Storm TV.

“I’ve only been back for four days but the boys have been training really hard which is always a good sign.

Thirsty work out there today. The boys are putting in the hard yards in the heat! ☀️💦 #purplepride pic.twitter.com/bMCXOQmI46

— Melbourne Storm (@storm) January 16, 2017

“One thing Craig says to us every pre-season is that the harder you train in pre-season the more luck you are going to have during the year. It is good to see the boys are having a red-hot crack.”

The Storm began their two week camp in Geelong on Monday as they prepare for the Auckland Nines on the weekend of February 4th and 5th.

“I’m enjoying it, there are a lot of new faces in the squad this year so it is a good chance to get to know a few of the boys.

“We are here in Geelong for the next two weeks so it is a good opportunity to see a few new faces, chat to them from where they are from, know their background and bring the squad closer together.”

Check out the Storm’s 2017 predictions here: https://the81stminute.com/2017/01/2017-predictions-melbourne-storm/