An hour was all Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy was allowing his side to savour their stunning return to NRL minor premiers before focusing on the big prize they will begin hunting next week.

The Storm officially claimed the No.1 spot on the ladder despite Sunday's 40-8 drubbing by the Sydney Roosters to make some amends for the minor premierships of 2006-08 they were stripped of after the infamous salary cap scandal.

For a club left decimated 18 months ago and forced to recruit a bunch of journeymen to replace the big names forced to depart, it has been an astonishing achievement.

"It means a fair bit to win this minor premiership after what we've been through as a club last year," Bellamy said.

"Obviously there's a bigger prize in the next month and it's a whole new competition starts next week but we just sit back for an hour and probably savour that tonight.

"It's a great compliment to these players that they've been able to do that."

Halfback and stand-in skipper Cooper Cronk described the achievement as "phenomenal".

"I get great motivation and strength from the fact that we've just won the minor premiership," he said.

"Where this club has come from in the last 12 months, it's phenomenal.

"What we've achieved now is one competition's finished and the big one starts now.

"It's a good time of year to be playing.

"I know this time last year we were sitting on the sidelines pretty filthy with the situation we were in but at least we get an opportunity to play and have a say in the outcome of September footy."

That will begin with next Sunday's qualifying final against Newcastle at AAMI Park.

NRL boss David Gallop, who meted out penalties to the Storm that also included the stripping of their 2007 and 2009 premierships, congratulated the club.

"It is a deserved reward for the way the club has moved forward in the past 12 months and for the commitment shown by the players over the 26 rounds," Gallop said.

First place for the Storm was confirmed when Brisbane beat Manly 18-10 earlier on Sunday in Darren Lockyer's regular season farewell at Suncorp Stadium.

A sold-out crowd of 50,859 will get a sense of deja vu next week after Lockyer's third-placed Broncos locked up a Saturday night finals clash with No.6-ranked New Zealand Warriors at the same venue.

The Warriors sensationally stitched up sixth spot with a dominant 18-6 win over North Queensland in Auckland on Saturday night.

The Cowboys dramatically dropped from fourth to seventh with the loss - after at one stage contemplating a home final they are now on a collision course with second-placed hosts Manly at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night.

A Robbie Farah-inspired Wests Tigers secured fourth with a 30-22 victory over Cronulla on Saturday night, a win that booked a Friday night finals opener against fifth-placed St George Illawarra - the defending champions - at ANZ Stadium.

A four-try haul by winger Akuila Uate helped Newcastle snatch eighth spot with a 40-24 thrashing of fellow finals aspirants South Sydney on Friday night.

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