Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy admits he's down to the bare bones as the Storm nervously await an all-clear for Brandon Smith to play the NRL match against Parramatta on Saturday.
The Storm host Parramatta at AAMI Park without star hooker Harry Grant and third-choice Tyran Wishart.
Grant has tested positive for COVID-19 but Wishart, who lives with the Queensland hooker, is deemed a household contact and cannot play despite testing negative.
Smith suffered a fractured hand in the club's round-one win over the Wests Tigers and was expected to be out for up to a month
To make matters worse off-season acquistion, utility Bronson Garlick, broke his leg playing for Storm's feeder club, the Brisbane Tigers.
The Storm have flown in Tyson Smoothy from another feeder outfit, Sunshine Coast Falcons, as 18th man with Smith named to start at hooker.
"I don't think he (Smith) is going to get 80 minutes," Bellamy said.
"With Brandon's broken hand he hasn't done much training. We brought in Tyson so we have a little bit of coverage.
"We've struggled with a dummy-half all year. They're harder to replace than most other players, the guys are playing a key position.
"I suppose that's been another real positive for us is that we've sort of overcome that.
"It's been a bit of a saga but we dealt with it the best we can."
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur has picked a sizeable bench for Saturday's clash, opting for props Oregon Kaufusi, Makahesi Makatoa, Wiremu Greig and utility forward Ray Stone in a bid to overpower Melbourne on their home turf.
The Eels clearly sense a weakness with the cornerstones of last year's Storm pack, Christian Welch and Tui Kamikamica, unavailable and Dale Finucane an off-season departure for Cronulla.
Melbourne's starting side still boasts Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Jesse Bromwich but it is on the bench where they will be tested against the Eels.
Bellamy's interchange options are the young forward pairing of Alec MacDonald and Trent Loiero, fullback Nick Meaney and Tepai Moeroa, who has yet to hit top gear since returning from a stint with Super Rugby's Waratahs.
"They (Parramatta) have had two close games and they're a big, strong, physical team and they've got a great kicker of the ball (halfback Mitchell Moses)," Bellamy said.
"The fullback (Clint Gutherson) is probably one of the best defensive fullbacks in the game, you know, so, they've got a lot of positives to them.
"The forwards are big and strong, so we know we're in for a torrid time if we don't complete better."
