He’s solely been on the membership for 2 days however new recruit Shawn Blore has already impressed his Storm teammates, with the previous Tiger an opportunity of breaking into Melbourne’s beginning facet if he can dominate the subsequent six weeks.
Blore joined the Storm final week on a three-year deal after a swap deal noticed hard-hitting centre Justin Olam head to the Tigers after months of hypothesis that the pair would swap locations.
Olam spent six seasons in Melbourne however fell out of favour final 12 months which noticed him dropped to Queensland Cup for six video games earlier than he returned for the finals.
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“I know ‘Juzzi’ loved the Storm, and on his final day he was tearing up when talking to the group. I think he understood the situation and full credit to him because he was really professional about it all,” Storm prop Christian Welch mentioned.
“It’s a pretty bittersweet thing because everyone at the club is pretty excited to get Shawn in.
“He started on Monday and he seems like a really good fella and a great addition to our club, but at the same time, Olam has been at the club for a long time and is highly respected and really loved by the playing group.
“It’s a bit sad to see him move on, but we wish him all the best and I know he’ll do really well at the Tigers.”
With Olam gone, Nick Meaney is anticipated to make the transfer to left centre the place he may line up alongside a brand new face within the again row with Trent Loiero tipped to shift to the center in 2024.
That may open the door for Blore to return straight into the facet, however Welch – talking from Geelong the place the Storm have began a two-week intensive camp – mentioned there was loads of competitors.
Jack Howarth, 21, was signed on a monster contract however couldn’t crack the 17 till the ultimate spherical of the 2023 season the place he impressed on the sting, whereas Joe Chan additionally seemed good that night time in Brisbane.
“The back row is pretty competitive,” Welch mentioned, with the trials set to play a key function in figuring out who begins within the second row.
“You’ve got Jack Howarth who’s a highly-touted junior and had a great debut at Suncorp last year. Joey Chan also had a great debut and then you’ve got Shawn Blore.
“There’s still a bit of time for this to play out because we’ve got a decent chunk of January to go and then those two trial games which will be really interesting for our back-rowers to try to grab that spot in the pack next to Eli Katoa.
“I reckon that’s where you’ll see the emergence of some younger guys who don’t have the biggest names but have been working really hard.”
The again row was all the time going to be a difficulty for the Storm with veterans Felise Kaufusi and Kenny Bromwich shifting on, however former Warrior Eli Katoa proved his price on the proper edge with a terrific end to the season.
He scored 5 tries in a four-game stretch and struck up a strong mixture with halfback Jahrome Hughes within the attacking 20.
He had a complete pre-season to work with Hughes, not like Blore who has began a bit later than the Storm would have preferred, however the membership is assured the 23-year-old has the talent and starvation to study the system in time for spherical one.
“Eli showed last year how quickly he picked up the Storm system and what we want from our forwards,” Welch mentioned.
“Time is of the essence for Shawn because Eli started with us before Christmas whereas he’s come in towards the backend of pre-season so he’s got a fair bit of learning to do.
“He seems like a ripping guy and is really keen for the challenge. I’m sure he’ll play a really big part for us this season.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
