Losing the 2011 NRL preliminary final still stings for Melbourne co-captain Jesse Bromwich.
The 2016 grand final defeat does too.
In fact, winning has become such a habit that even regular season losses - no matter how rare - haunt the Storm under hard-marking coach Craig Bellamy.
Bromwich tried to explain why defeats years ago still spur him - and Melbourne - on in the lead-up to Saturday's preliminary final against Penrith.
"I think the 2011 preliminary final (loss to New Zealand Warriors) was the first time I had lost a big game," said Bromwich, who is in his 12th season with the Storm.
"Craig (Bellamy) puts a feeling in you like you are going to win every game and to not win, you feel like you let him down.
"It (2011 result) has driven me ever since."
Perhaps the biggest blow came five years later when Cronulla upset the Storm to win an historic maiden premiership.
Even with three NRL titles to his name, Bromwich admitted the 2016 result still upset him after only knowing success at Melbourne.
"You can't be happy with just getting to a grand final and you have to realise that you can lose them as well," Bromwich said.
"I know it sounds silly but I didn't know that until 2016 that you can lose (a grand final).
"I was just heartbroken after that game."
The disappointment of defeat isn't felt often at Melbourne - so when it does, it hits hard.
"Even losing a regular game it feels like someone has died to be honest," Storm back-rower Felise Kaufusi said.
"We train that hard and set the standards so high, I don't know if we take it to heart a bit more....(but) it (losing) is something we don't take lightly."
The premiers are contesting their seventh straight preliminary final in a bid to book a fifth grand final in six years.
Success has ensured leaving the club can be just as difficult as defeat.
"It is a bloody hard club to leave because of their success and what they get out of you as a player and person," said Kaufusi, who activated a contract option to extend his career at Melbourne into an eighth season in 2022.
"It is hard to explain, people always ask what we do differently at Melbourne.
"I just think Craig makes you work hard and wants the best out of you.
"As long as you buy in, the more you put in, the more you get out."
Australian Associated Press
