Why Melbourne Storm stars took the strange step of wearing Penrith jerseys ahead of their

Melbourne have taken their preparation for Friday night’s do-or-die finals clash with Penrith to new heights by taking the unusual step of getting several of their stars to wear the opposition’s jerseys at training.

The reigning premiers are clear favourites to win through to the grand final when the sides meet, with the Storm coming into the match on the back of a close win over the Roosters after being hammered 26-0 by Brisbane to start their finals campaign.

Images of Melbourne players including Tepai Moeroa and George Jennings wearing the Panthers’ strip have been revealed on social media, with the photos taken at an opposed session the team held recently.

Opposed sessions are used by footy teams to get as close as possible to match-day conditions and this one saw the club’s reserve players in the Penrith colours as they competed against the first-string stars.

Tepai Moeroa was one of the Melbourne Storm stars spotted wearing the opposition’s colours at a recent training session ahead of their preliminary final clash with Penrith

George Jennings (with ball) and fellow Storm reserves players sported the Panthers gear as they took on the team’s first-string players in an opposed session

The Storm have lost five matches in a row to Penrith and the use of the tops shows coach Craig Bellamy is trying every trick in the book to get his team over the line and into their fourth grand final since 2016.

Keen observers will note that the Panthers tops aren’t official match-day gear, but rather part of the team’s training kit.

Some footy fans reacted by applauding the move once the photos started going viral.

‘Bellyache.. masterstroke,’ one wrote, using Bellamy’s nickname.

‘You can bet your last dollar the Storm will be well prepared,’ another supporter added.

Penrith have won their last five matches against the Storm, who go into the game as huge underdogs – and the inclusion of Panthers star Jarome Luai after he recovered from a dislocated shoulder (pictured) will make their task even harder

Others took the opportunity to find some humour in the strange sight of players wearing their rivals’ gear.

‘Did they buy the jerseys at Best n Less? Missing a few sponsors,’ one fan quipped.

‘Easily the best part about this is that they’re not jerseys or official apparel but instead are black t shirts that appear to have iron on motifs of our logo, sponsors and stripes … did they all go home and iron on their own,’ another speculated.

‘Funniest part about this is that the club will have forked out cash to pay for them,’ joked a third supporter.

Meanwhile, both sides have named injured stars for the clash at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.

Halfback Jahrome Hughes (pictured) had to sit out his team’s narrow win over the Roosters last week with a calf injury, but is a very welcome inclusion for Friday night’s final

The focus will remain firmly on Panthers five-eighth Luai and Storm halfback Hughes right until kick-off at Accor Stadium on Friday.

Luai hasn’t been sighted in the NRL since he suffered a dislocated shoulder in the penultimate round of the regular season, but is on track to return against the Storm.

The Panthers have soldiered on with Jack Cogger filling the void to partner Nathan Cleary, the former part of Penrith’s extended squad should Luai fail to pull through.

Centre Izack Tago has also overcome a pectoral injury to be named by Panthers coach Ivan Cleary.

Penrith’s last outing was a 30-6 demolition of the New Zealand Warriors (pictured) and they are widely tipped to win their third premiership in a row 

Melbourne will hope to welcome Hughes back into the fold, too, after the Kiwi international missed their semi-final win over the Sydney Roosters with a calf injury.

Hughes told reporters earlier this week he was confident he would be able to feature as the Storm aim to topple a Penrith side who have had their measure in four of the last five meetings.

Tyran Wishart moves to the bench with Hughes’ inclusion and could find himself starting for Harry Grant, who thrived against the Roosters when injected from the bench.

Winger Xavier Coates (ankle) remains sidelined for the Storm and is not named in their 22-man squad.