Melbourne front-rower Ryan Tandy has warned his Storm team-mates to be prepared for a big, physical Leeds pack when the sides meet in rugby league's World Club Challenge.

Tandy has plenty of experience with the English game and conditions, having spent time playing for Widnes and Hull KR between 2004 and 2007.

"Leeds has a big, physical pack and we're going to be up against it," Tandy told AAP in London as his team prepared for the February 28 showdown against the Rhinos.

"Leeds generally play an upbeat game and they're a very, very fast team so they get the best of teams a lot of the time.

"But we play the same sort of game as Leeds, so we'll be looking at the same sort of style as we play back home and I think that's why Leeds are in front over here."

The 28-year-old journeyman made his international debut for Ireland in 2006 and caught the attention of Storm coach Craig Bellamy at the 2008 World Cup.

Just a month younger than five-eighth Brett Finch, Tandy is one of the oldest players in the Storm squad.

And he's looking forward to seeing some of Melbourne's newly promoted under-20s players in action against Harlequins in a warm-up match at Twickenham on Monday (AEDT).

"We're like the younger blokes in the team because a lot of guys here that are in the leadership group, like Smitty (Cameron Smith), they set the tone, so we just try to hang out with the younger blokes and mix it there to make us feel young," Tandy said.

Tandy remains a relative newcomer, having secured a Melbourne first-grade berth late last season.

He cemented his place in the WCC outfit after a trial game against Brisbane Broncos in Rockhampton last weekend and said being out of season was no reason not to succeed against the three-time defending Super League champions in Leeds.

"It's an excuse I guess you could use if you lose a game, they're four games into a season, but we're not using that as an excuse," he said.

"We played a game last weekend versus Brisbane in Rockhampton and everyone's fit and firing to go so we're just treating it like round one."

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