Melbourne players have been boosted on the eve of their crucial NRL clash with Canberra with prop Tui Kamikamica returning to the club from his rehabilitation facility.
Kamikamica suffered a stroke earlier this month and underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain.
The Fiji Test captain spent time in intensive care and then in rehabilitation but was released on Thursday morning and headed straight to Storm headquarters.
He surprised the players at a meeting, being embraced by his teammates before they started their final training session ahead of Friday night's match in Canberra.
With Melbourne (2-4) in unfamiliar territory, looking to avoid a 14-year low of five straight losses, coach Craig Bellamy hoped the return of Kamikamica could help lift the struggling team.
"Yeah, he's been through a tough time, a real tough time, and to see him back and, quite honestly, as good as he looks, that's good," Bellamy said.
"He's still got a little way to go apparently, but it's great to see him back and hopefully having him back here, just for the training session, lifts the boys a little bit, lifts their spirits.
"We're probably down on that a little bit, but hopefully that'll give us a little bit of an uplift."
The Storm said 31-year-old Kamikamica has been doing "really well" and is completing some light training as part of his rehab.
They have no timeline for his return to NRL action but remain hopeful he will play again this season.
With a focus on improved defence, Bellamy is looking for his team to deliver an 80-minute performance at GIO Stadium, where they haven't played since 2021.
They haven't lost there in 10 years but are well aware of the danger posed by the Raiders (also 2-4), who were minor premiers last season.
"We've been good in patches and then not so good in other patches so we just need to be a bit more consistent without a doubt," he said.
"There's things we need to improve, and it pretty obvious for everyone to see, so it's just a matter of getting our mind on that and improving in those areas."
The Raiders were in a similar form slump with four straight losses before last round's 36-34 win over South Sydney.
Their coach Ricky Stuart backed his good mate Bellamy to coach his way out of the losing rut, with the pair set to catch up before the match.
"I think he's the best coach in the modern era," Stuart said on Thursday.
"He's had unbelievable amount of success with his longevity at Melbourne, and I don't want to praise him up too much, but outside being one of my real close friends, I respect him as a coach.
"He's done an unbelievable job with Melbourne, but I'm hoping he doesn't go that well tomorrow night."
