The phone is running hot again at the Melbourne Storm.

Motoring magazines, websites, radio stations, newspapers; everyone wants to talk to the Storm and everyone wants to know the same thing.

How are Melbourne back on top just over 12 months after league's darkest day?

Runaway competition leaders, the Storm are just games away from claiming the NRL minor premiership - a miraculous feat given last year they appeared a club in ruin.

The massive salary cap rorting and the penalties, including the stripping of two titles and the inability to play for competition points, leaving them anchoring the ladder, were tough enough.

There there was also the walk-out of sponsors and the forced departure of a swag of key players, including Test superstar Greg Inglis.

With such a turnover of talent, few experts expected the Storm to be anywhere near pole position this season.

Melbourne insist they're not motivated by revenge.

There's no picture of NRL chief David Gallop on a dartboard; no daily pilgrimage past their now empty trophy cabinet.

Ask coach Craig Bellamy or any of the Melbourne players and you'll be told they don't need outside motivation.

There's also no magic formula to their success.

They claim it's as simple as work ethic, character, toughness and desire - the same traits the club have always had.

"Last year's gone," says Melbourne captain Cameron Smith.

"There's quite a few in the team who weren't even at the club and they don't have any emotions toward the event.

"And those of us who are still at the club and went through it have put it all behind us.

"That's why I think we're playing so well - we're not living in the past, we're not playing for something that happened 12 months ago, we're playing for the guys who are here now."

Bellamy, a fierce taskmaster, is renowned for getting the best out of his players.

He has three of the best in the game in skipper Smith, fullback Billy Slater and halfback Cooper Cronk; the super-consistent trio equally as impressive off the field as on.

But it's the lesser known players who have stepped up to become vital assets for the side.

"What most guys have done is play close to their capabilities almost every week," says Bellamy.

"The most pleasing thing is how the new guys and young guys have taken to what we see as important and really worked hard in some areas to fit into the team."

Cronk says no one person could take credit for their ladder position.

"It's great to see the club, from where we've come from, in the position we are but that doesn't mean much unless we go on with it.

"We've got a very good coaching group and senior players who will make sure that we do all the right things and make sure we perform well."

While the revival in the Storm's fortunes in the NRL competition is there to see each week when they run onto the paddock, their off-field performance is also impressive.

Just over a year ago, Ron Gauci took over the chief executive role once held by "chief rat" Brian Waldron, who was deemed to have orchestrated the systematic cheating.

Before the Storm position, Gauci had a corporate business background and, most recently, headed up IT company Verizon Business.

Gauci says the Melbourne Storm back office embraces similar philosophies as the football department - hire good people, give them the right tools and work hard.

An injection of new staff - 12 people departed since April 2010 - has also allowed the office to put much of the trauma and stigma of the cheating scandal behind them.

Despite the loss of sponsors including Members Equity Bank and HostPlus in the wake of the salary cap scandal, which cost the Storm $900,000, Gauci was always confident the club could survive.

And they've done more than that, this year securing a three-year sponsorship by Crown entertainment group, much to the envy of every Victorian AFL club.

"Given the commitment that (owners) News Limited gave to us, whatever the financial position I knew that we had a secure future," Gauci says.

"What we had to do was set ourselves an objective that we would become financially viable and sustainable and we've been able to be those two things.

"I'm pleased with the success of the team on the field and I'm delighted with the success we've had off the field.

"The reality is that if you have a look at the key commercial metrics, many if not all are up year on year.

"We've had record-breaking attendances, our membership is record-breaking (11,700).

"Considering where we were, we're ahead of where we thought we'd be."

He also says Bellamy's innate determination convinced him from day one the club would also succeed again on the field.

With the players and coach cleared of active involvement in the salary cap rorting, Gauci says he's no longer introduced as the "man with the toughest job in sport".

There are still critics.

"You'll always get some supporters who are not Melbourne Storm supporters who will think that (they're cheats) and, unfortunately and sadly, we still see signs at certain grounds that we play at," says Gauci.

"I don't know what else the club can do to change that."

The players say they want to win the 2011 NRL premiership simply because that's the goal of every team in the competition.

"We're not thinking we want to be a part of the finals for what happened last year. We want to be the best we can for this season and we want to be the best side we can possibly be," Smith says.

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