"If you're not from Canberra you're not a chance."

As the only member of the Storm's senior coaching panel who hasn't worked at the Canberra Raiders, Kearney must sometimes wonder how he even got a gig on Craig Bellamy's staff.

While the on-field heroics of Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Greg Inglis have played a huge part in Melbourne's surge to tomorrow's fourth consecutive NRL grand final appearance, the brains behind the Storm have been just as vital.

Leading the way has been head coach Bellamy, an inaugural Raider who won a premiership with Canberra in 1990, before serving in various coaching roles with the club for five years.

There's assistant coach Michael Maguire, who joined the Storm ranks in 2005, just a season before Melbourne began its grand final streak. Like Bellamy, Maguire served his coaching apprenticeship at the Raiders, having previously played 11 first grade games for the club.