SYDNEY - Melbourne captain Cameron Smith says the National Rugby League (NRL) minor premiers are a much better team than they were last year when they lost in the grand final.
The Storm were presented with the JJ Giltinan Shield as minor premiers for a second straight yearlast night as they tuned up for the finals series with a 50-6 rout of the Gold Coast at Olympic Park.
The Storm's record has improved from 20-4 in 2006 to 21-3 this year and Smith said the raging premiership favourites had improved enormously since losing the 2006 title decider to Brisbane.
"We had a very young squad last year and pretty inexperienced, particularly around this time of year and it probably showed there in the last game where our intentions were right but we just didn't execute properly," said he told media at today's captain's call.
"Definitely this year I feel we're a more composed team."
Hooker Smith said his side had needed to adjust to being marked men in 2007 after surprising pundits last year.
"I don't know if everyone's aware but it's been a lot harder season for us," he said.
"Probably last year we slipped under everyone's radar and caught people by surprise a bit.
"This year every team's been ready for us, every coach has had their team well prepared and every game we've played has been pretty tough."
The eight captains of the NRL's finals combatants were speaking at the Sydney Football Stadium today ahead of the series kick-off on Friday night.
The Warriors host Parramatta on Friday, Manly and South Sydney do battle at Brookvale Oval on Saturday, also on Saturday the Bulldogs travel to Townsville to play North Queensland and Melbourne have an opportunity for 2006 grand final revenge against the Broncos at Olympic Park on Sunday.
