Life in Melbourne has been pretty comfy from a #KiwiNRL perspective in recent years. Not only has there been group of kiwi lads who have come through the Storm's system, the quality of that group is undeniable and the likes of Jesse Bromwich, Tohu Harris and Kevin Proctor swiftly established themselves as top-tier players in their positions across the NRL.

Kenny Bromwich emerged in typical Storm fashion as a fine team-man who can cover a range of positions at a high level and broke the shackles, impressing last season through the middle. Go back just a little bit further and you'll find Matt Duffie, a schoolboy rugby union star who shifted over to Melbourne and settled into the NRL and a Kiwis jersey as fast as any of the other Kiwi Storm Gang members have.

Times are changing though and that gang has been disrupted with Proctor moving up to the Gold Coast, after Duffie went back to union with the Blues. Harris will also move back to Aotearoa and link up with the Warriors, meaning that in the space of 12 months, Melbourne's core group of Kiwis (Bromwich bros, Proctor, Harris) has been cut in half. This does makes sense though as Proctor very nearly left the Storm to move to Canberra - a last minute korero with the Storm cuzzies kept him in Melbourne - and Harris is right to cash in on his meteoric rise to the point where he's low key one of the best players in the NRL.

Melbourne have money tied up in Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater. Chuck in young gun Cameron Munster and trying to keep Jordan McLean/Dale Finucane on their books and well, the salary cap is just doing its job. This week however saw Jesse Bromwich re-sign for three years with another two years as an option, ensuring that Melbourne can build their future around Bromwich. This should also result in Kenny sticking around in Melbourne once his deal expires in 2018; as long as Jesse is in Melbourne and they have enough cash to reward Kenny, expect Kenny to stay with the Storm.

Harris and Proctor got too good for the Storm's funds, leaving Kenny with an opportunity to really kick on as Harris has done in the last season or two.

Of course, there's a further #KiwiNRL twist here as getting Harris and Proctor off their books will give the Storm room to make a massive play at keeping Nelson Asofa-Solomona in Melbourne. Last year there was a plenty of competition for Asofa-Solomona's signature in both rugby codes and while the Storm won that battle, they only signed him to a one-year deal.

Asofa-Solomona is clearly a talented forward but he's yet to show that he can play 30+ minutes in the NRL and while other clubs would have splashed the cash for his services, he's better off putting in another big season - ticking a few more boxes - and then hitting the market. I'd also suggest that this is a wise move from the Storm as they can ensure that Asofa-Solomona stays in Melbourne with a big offer after they get Harris off their books.

All #KiwiNRL good vibes aside, the Storm are well positioned to absorb the losses of Proctor and Harris as they are edge forwards; Kenny Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi have started the season in those spots with Harris out injured. Melbourne can move forward having saved some cash via their depth, but Asofa-Solomona will be a priority as there's no bloke like him in the NRL.

Melbourne signed Brandon Smith from North Queensland for three years, so they have the talented dummy half from Waiheke locked in. That will ensure that there's two young kiwi lads who ooze NRL ability (Smith/Asofa-Solomona) that will fill our #KiwiNRL boots for years to come. Also joining Melbourne from North Queensland was Jahrome Hughes on a two-year deal and Hughes can cover a variety of positions in the backline.

In shedding some of their high calibre #KiwiNRL talent, the Storm appear to have ensured that they are in the best position to keep the best young #KiwiNRL talent that they have coming through. They've weakened their Kiwi Storm Gang in the short-term but it's exciting to know that they will still have a heavy kiwi flavour moving forward, a flavour that should be just as tasty.