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Melbourne's hard-fought 28-18 win over Manly has made it 17 straight NRL wins for the Storm, putting them just three games shy of breaking the all-time record.
Melbourne are three games away from the greatest winning run of all-time in the NRL after passing their biggest test in months against Manly.
The Storm's 28-18 win over the Sea Eagles made it 17 straight wins, becoming just the fourth team in the game's 114-season history to achieve the feat.
That places them level with Penrith's run from last year that took them to the grand final, as well as Canterbury's streak in 2002 when they cheated the salary cap.
The Eastern Suburbs side of 1975 hold the current record of 19 straight but that's now at risk of falling later this month.
The Storm have games against Canberra and Gold Coast in the next month to equal the Roosters' old mark, before a clash with Parramatta in three weeks that could clinch it.
"It's been one hell of an effort from this group," Storm coach Craig Bellamy said after Saturday's victory.
"To win 17 in a row in this competition is pretty remarkable. We probably will have a bit of think about it when we get on the bus tonight.
"I'm real proud of what they've done. But at the end of the day the proof will be in the pudding in September. That's when we have to get it right."
Melbourne's run of wins could be one of several records for this season, with the Storm's for-and-against of +467 already the best of any team in the NRL-era.
Likewise, they need 121 more points to topple Parramatta's record of 839 points scored in the 26-game regular season in 2001.
But such is the lopsided nature of the competition, they remain only one win clear of Penrith and South Sydney.
Manly also showed they can legitimately challenge come finals after pushing Melbourne on Saturday night, while Bellamy believes Sydney Roosters and Parramatta are still in the race.
"I know a lot of people were saying it is a two-horse or three-horse race," Bellamy said.
"But to me there are five or six teams at this stage who could win a competition.
"When September happens, what has happened in the six months before gets thrown out the window.
"There is a lot of quality in the top six or seven teams. There is going to be more twists and turns with some luck involved at some stage."
