We take a closer look at Lazarus Vaalepu, the man Craig Bellamy and Melbourne Storm are tasking with replacing Nelson Asofa-Solomona for the grand final against Penrith.

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy hasn’t ruled out making a late switch to his bench, with Joe Chan on standby to come in for rookie Lazarus Vaalepu for Sunday’s grand final showdown with the Panthers.

Melbourne, as expected, will contest next week’s NRL Grand Final after turning over the Sydney Roosters 46-18 on home turf at AAMI Park. Jahrome Hughes, as expected, was the best player on the ground and it will be a minor miracle if anyone else wins the Dally M Medal on Wednesday.

The Melbourne Storm have bounced back from a sin-binning in the opening seconds of their clash with the Sydney Roosters to return to the NRL grand final with a thumping 48-18 win at AAMI Park. Superstar halfback Jahrome Hughes made one last statement before Dally M Medal night on Wednesday with a hat-trick of tries on Friday night,

Melbourne have qualified for their first NRL grand final since 2020 after beating the Sydney Roosters 48-18 at AAMI Park.

Craig Bellamy’s Storm take on Trent Robinson’s Roosters in an elimination final at AAMI Park. Follow all the action