In many ways Melbourne Storm winger Steve Turner is the perfect replacement for retiring Bulldog great Hazem El Masri.

After six years with Melbourne, Turner will join the Bulldogs next season, meaning that next Saturday's preliminary NRL final at Etihad Stadium could be his last game with the Storm.

Turner's no goal-kicking wizard but he knows how to find the try-line and, like El Masri, he's one of the game's Mr Nice Guys and is a club favourite with team-mates, coaches and fans alike.

Coach Craig Bellamy describes him as the "heart and soul" of Melbourne.

Turner won over many in 2006 when he turned his back on a deal to play with the Gold Coast, and has now played 103 NRL games with Melbourne after two early matches for Penrith.

He wanted to continue in the purple but was squeezed out of the Storm by the salary cap.

Hopeful that he will have two more games with Melbourne, and finish his fourth successive grand final with an NRL premiership, the 24-year-old said he had only just started to think about his departure.

"The reality is that the (the end of the year) is coming and the closure to my career at the Storm is coming," Turner said.

"It's going to be a sad day when it does happen but let's hope it doesn't happen next week ... I can only ride it out as long as I can.

"I've really enjoyed my time here at the club and made some wonderful friends and some wonderful memories."

He said he had been impressed by what the Bulldogs had achieved in the past 12 months, rising from wooden-spooners to top two on the NRL table.

"They've achieved a lot on the field and off the field to the credit of (coach) Kevin Moore and the staff he's got there, they've done a wonderful job.

"It's going to be a new challenge for me to go to the Bulldogs but I'll worry about that once the season finishes.

"All I can do is focus on what I can do with the Storm."

Turner said his departure, and that of other players such as centre Will Chambers, wouldn't be used as any kind of motivation.

"It's not going to be do it for Steve Turner, we've got to do it for each other and do it as a team because we all go out there to achieve the one goal, and hopefully we can do that together in October."

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