(RYAN WITHERS is a freelance journalist and BPL contributor.)

The Melbourne Storm's early-season revival has gone a long way to winning back some respect in the NRL following the scandal in 2010 over their salary cap rorting. 

After their year from hell, the Storm would have been forgiven had they fell into decline and sunk to the bottom of the NRL ladder this season, as many experts had predicted.

Having suffered under the extreme measures of David Gallop's NRL punishments, the simple notion of a 2011 challenge was mere fantasy after a season that saw them stripped of two premierships and all competition points.

With new faces on and off the field, and a long summer spent remaking their side, the Storm faced a big challenge to win back their position amongst the league's heavyweights. 

However, in a surprise twist, the Melbourne boys have been able to become a genuine premiership force in 2011 and, for the first time since 1999, a legitimate one.

They have risen to the challenge to prove to those north of the Murray River that they can indeed win another premiership.

Six rounds in, the Storm has come out firing, and taken some pretty big scalps along the way. Having notched up considerable wins against Manly, Gold Coast, Canterbury, Parramatta and Penrith over the weekend, the Storm have put themselves in a commanding position and are now sitting atop the NRL ladder.

Their fans too have made their voices heard, with home attendances at AAMI Park hovering above a 11,000 average in the early rounds. This would have come as a surprise to all in rugby league as lower crowds had been expected following the unveiling of the new Super 15 rugby team, Melbourne Rebels, over summer. 

The first recorded television ratings and attendance, of over 24,000 for the Rebels' first match, would have been a big concern for Storm and NRL officials, with the city of Melbourne seemingly engulfed in Rebels fever.

However, what was even more surprising was the crowd of over 14,000 that turned up to AAMI Park a day later to watch the Storm compete for two premiership points for the first time in over a year. 

The feeling around Melbourne was that the majority of Storm fans, after years of waiting, would jump ship and follow the ‘real rugby' code. But the faithful have returned to the club in droves in the hopes that their once-proud team would rise again. 

To say that things seemed dire for the Melbourne Storm, playing a 'foreign' game in the AFL heartland, with almost nowhere to hide from the memories of 2010, would be an absolute understatement. There was no respect for the Storm. They were branded as cheats, and the loss of so many high-profile players cannot be underestimated from a marketing point of view. 

But from the ashes of one of rugby league's ugliest years, the Melbourne Storm has returned with a new vigour. A vigour that has slowly brought a team on the brink right back into play, not only on the field - but off it as well.