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AAP
AAP
Sport
Melissa Woods

Smith, Coates hope to be Storm NRL force

Winger Xavier Coates (left) has been an instant hit with his new Melbourne NRL teammates. (AAP)

With a combined weight of 210kg and both standing at about 195cm, Reimis Smith and his new Storm wingman Xavier Coates are looking to cause big trouble for rival NRL teams.

The pair loomed large in Melbourne's golden point win over South Sydney last round, with ex-Bronco Coates scoring his second try in two games with his new club.

Smith said Coates, who turned 21 earlier this month, hadn't missed a beat since arriving in Melbourne.

"He's a big kid with a big future ahead of him," Smith told AAP.

"He switched to the right side (after injury to George Jennings) in round two and fitted straight into how we defend and attack so I thought he was unreal.

"I take my hat off to him, he's done really well and if he keeps it up he's going to be one of the best wingers in the comp."

Last season Smith played alongside Josh Addo-Carr, who scored 23 tries in 2021 before departing for Canterbury.

While Coates isn't a renowned speedster like the Addo-Carr, he brings other attributes such as his size to the Storm.

"He brings that presence ... there's a lot of weight and height between us so hopefully we can keep building that combination," Smith said.

Melbourne host Parramatta on Saturday at AAMI Park where they will be looking for an improved performance after letting slip a 14-0 lead against the Rabbitohs.

With two players separately sin-binned, Smith said their gruelling pre-season fitness training kept them in the game.

"To win under the circumstances of having 12 men twice in the game it was big for us," the 24-year-old said.

"Everyone knows the Storm train hard and I think we have the hardest pre-season of all teams but when it comes to games we know we've done the hard work.

"When we get in those tough situations we can fall back on our training.

"That's tested our pre-season training and it's come up trumps.

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