With the uncertain environment that sport provides, it’s nice to have a few certainties. Things like Gus telling us how much he loves Sunday afternoon football, or Ricky Stuart complaining about penalty counts or everybody hating Manly.
It’s comforting to have some things that never change. For the past decade another rugby league constant has been the sustained excellence of the Melbourne Storm.
The stats speak for themselves. With the notable exception of 2010, Melbourne has made the top four every season since 2006.
For the past decade they have made it to at least the second week of the finals. They have won 3* premierships and have made five grand finals.
They have been built around three of the best players of the modern era, and as I write these words they have just toughed out a 32-0 win over the Broncos, a win which was built on defence that defied belief.
For some the Bellamy era will always be cheapened by the salary cap scandal of 2010 (even though they only breached the cap by $200, 000 in 2007, the year of their first grand final win).
But cap breach or not, they have still recruited and developed the best talent in the NRL.
In the two full seasons since the scandal, they have lost just 13 games. The performance they put together in the 2012 grand final against Canterbury was one of the finest of the modern era.
Bellamy has taken players like Maurice Blair and Ryan Hinchcliffe who were sporadic first graders at their former clubs and transformed them into crucial role players in his purple machine.
It seems a foolish thing to say, but are the Storm underrated?
Not in the way that, for example, a Jesse Bromwich or a Liam Fulton or a Bryce Gibbs is underrated, because they are of course still counted as one of the elite teams in the competition, but in the way we can underrate greatness because we become so used to it.
To this point of the season, South Sydney and the Roosters have been the standout teams.
They are first and second on the ladder for a damn good reason, and have been extremely impressive in racking up their wins.
Amidst the destructive power of the Burgess clan, the athletic supremacy of Greg Inglis, the complete package that is Sonny-Bill Williams and the scheming brilliance of James Maloney, the methodical process of the Storm seems somewhat forgotten and frankly, almost pedestrian.
Detractors may point to a few sub-par displays from the Storm, most notably defeats to Penrith, Wests and Canberra, three teams that will do well to make the playoffs.
The defeat to Canberra was especially mystifying, especially since it was in Melbourne. Canberra is so bad away from home it physically hurts me.
But as the stakes get higher and the opposition lifts, the Storm lift accordingly.
The week before the inexplicable loss to Canberra, they tamed the Rabbitohs 17-10 in one of the games of the year.
The control and execution of the Storm that night was amazing. Souths were good, make no mistake, and against other team they would have been victors that night.
But they made on defensive lapse too many, one blown call or miscommunication.
To beat the Storm at their best you must be perfect. The eight-point win over the high-flying Chooks in Round 11 was another stark reminder of the level they can reach. Such intensity and focus is an unrealistic proposition week to week.
Only once have Melbourne managed to play to their ceiling for an entire season, way back in 2007, a season in which they lost just three games en route to the title.
Despite hating to lose like my dog hates being washed, Craig Bellamy is a crafty bugger. He knows that in every end of season game it is not the best team that wins, but the team that plays best on the day.
In 2009 Melbourne experienced a notably down middle third of the year, before exploding into form in the semi-finals.
Last season, the eight-game winning streak that saw them capture the title was preceded by a five-game losing streak. Bellamy will have his boys firing in September, you can bet the farm on that.
All three of the top sides are capable of winning the premiership, but amid the flash and glamour of the games two oldest clubs, the best team of the past decade should not be discounted.
They may not blow you off the park with flash and dash, but in the tough end of season games they can tough it out like nobody else.
Cam Smith and Cooper Cronk will kick you to death, making you work it out from the corners again and again and again, with every touch perfect, every movement is just as it has to be.
If the opposition is not perfect, they will falter, because Melbourne will not blink.
By no means are they unbeatable, but when the whips start to crack and spotlight gets brighter, they reach an apex that is tough for any team to match.
So the next time a Burgess or a Jennings or an Inglis embarrass a mere mortal with their ability, just remember that the Storm will be there at the end, and no titles will be won without defeating the premiers.
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