Coach Craig Bellamy says attitude and camaraderie are key reasons why his rebuilt Melbourne team are once again leading the way in the NRL.

Just over a year after the club's darkest hour, when they were stripped of two premierships, three minor premierships and forced to play the 2010 NRL season for no points for salary cap breaches, the new-look Storm once again look the team to beat.

On Sunday, Craig Bellamy's side chalked up a seventh successive victory as Canberra were brushed aside 26-0, to become the first team ever to hold the Raiders scoreless at home.

Forced to offload stars such as Greg Inglis, Ryan Hoffman, Dallas Johnson, Brett Finch and Aiden Tolman in the offseason to get under the salary cap, few expected to see the Storm back at the top of the NRL ladder after 19 rounds of the season.

Any team blessed with Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith is always going to be a threat in attack, but lesser-known names Gareth Widdop, Jesse Bromwich, Matt Duffie, Maurice Blair and Kevin Proctor have stepped up in impressive manner.

Despite his side's 14th win of the season, Bellamy played down the strides they have made, and denied that they were on a par with previous Storm sides but said the mentality was just as strong.

"We need to sharpen up a little bit on our attack, but I think our attitude to our footy is as good as it's ever been," Bellamy said.

"There's obviously a good feeling in the place at the moment. But that can come unstuck really quickly unless we keep working hard."

The Storm's victory in Canberra was their fourth straight fixture outside of the Victorian capital and Bellamy admits he cannot wait to get back to playing on home soil.

They take on Brisbane at AAMI Park on Friday night.

"I was real happy with the way they played, it's been on the end of our fourth away game in a row and they've been at all different destinations, so to get a routine down, it hasn't been easy," Bellamy said.

"There is a good chemistry here, the guys are doing stuff socially together, the new guys have come in and done very well, and it is very pleasing the direction we are heading in."

The Storm lead Manly by two points at the top of the ladder, but comfortably beat the Sea Eagles 18-6 in round one and face Des Hasler's side again in round 25 in a game that could potentially decide the minor premiership.

However, Manly have improved significantly since that encounter, and cruised past Newcastle on Sunday 32-10 to sit just two points behind Melbourne in second spot.

Knights coach Rick Stone believes Manly's style makes them a very difficult side to beat.

"They're well organised, they're hard to score points against, they've got a fullback who can cover a lot of things as far as kicks are concerned and generally their formation is pretty sound and athletically they're pretty good on the edges as well," Stone said.

"It's not an easy gig against Manly.

"You need a bit of patience and you need to wear them down and make the play counts on your side because you've got to fight for everything."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP