Departing forwards Ryan Hoffman and Brett White have no doubt that Melbourne will again be one of the NRL's heavyweights in coming seasons.
Speaking in the rooms after they'd helped the Storm thrash the Knights 34-4 on Sunday at AAMI Park in their final game for the club, each scoring a try along the way, the pair said they expect coach Craig Bellamy to have his team firing in 2011 when they'll again be playing for points.
"I've said it quite a few times, we've got a very, very strong culture here," Hoffman said.
"Whether it's a good culture or a bad culture it's very hard to break."
"There's been a lot of non-negotiables put in this team and in this club and they're going to keep on going for years to come."
"It's an exciting time for the club to move forward, it's a new era coming through so it's going to be a strong club for years to come," White added.
Hoffman and White have endured testing final seasons at the club following the devastating NRL penalties for salary-cap cheating laid down in late April, with the situation having a large bearing on both electing to leave.
Hoffman will head to English Super League club Wigan along with Brett Finch and Jeff Lima while White has picked up a three-year contract with the Canberra Raiders but both are disappointed they won't get to be part of the rebuilding even though new players get the chance to resurrect the club.
"Yeah it's something I thought about when I was making a decision," White said of the potential to be part of the team that seeks to set the record straight next year.
"I've got no doubt that they'll be a strong force next year and I know how much it hurt a lot of the boys that are staying, how much this year hurt them and they'll be out to prove things right and best of luck to them."
"It is disappointing (I won't be here next year) but I just see me going as an opportunity for a younger player, an opportunity for a player who may not have had an opportunity at another club," Hoffman said.
"Hopefully me going gave someone else a chance to have great memories at Melbourne Storm."
Both capped off impressive careers at the club with a try on Sunday, Hoffman getting over in the 53rd minute to make the game safe after Newcastle had narrowed the gap to 12-4 before White crossed in the final minutes.
Hoffman played 170 matches for the Storm after debuting in Round 6 of the 2003 season, scoring 41 tries along the way while White crossed the chalk six times in 127 matches, including in his debut against the same opponent.
"I really wanted to leave the club with happy memories and that's what today has given me," Hoffman said.
"It wasn't the most convincing try I've ever scored in my life but it was great to get over."
"It was quite ironic just seeing all the guys that are going managed to score and Jeff (Lima) managed to kick a goal, you couldn't have scripted it better."
Yeah it's funny, my debut for the Melbourne Storm was against Newcastle and I got a try and my final game was against Newcastle and I got a try in nearly the exact same spot on the field," White said.
"It's just been a wonderful time."