Melbourne fullback Billy Slater has vowed to put his individual disappointment behind him to spearhead his NRL's club push for back-to-back premierships.

Slater missed out on the NRL player of the year award, the Dally M, because of points docked for a suspension during the year.

Instead Manly halfback Matt Orford - a former Storm teammate and good friend of Slater's - was named player of the year at the awards ceremony on Tuesday night in Sydney.

But Slater said he was more interested in helping the Storm get past bogy side - the New Zealand Warriors - in their finals opener on Sunday than wallowing in any Dally M disappointment.

"That's the way footy goes. You don't go out on the field to get Dally M points, you go out there to play for your teammates," Slater said.

"We're focusing on the Warriors now and we know it's going to be a tough game.

"They'll come over here very confident and we'll be doing our homework this week."

The Warriors stunned Melbourne 8-6 six weeks ago in Auckland and are one of only two teams to defeat the Storm at Olympic Park in the past three years.

It makes the New Zealanders a real banana skin for the Storm, especially as they must beat the premiers to stay alive in the finals.

Melbourne lock Dallas Johnson's odds of playing against the Warriors in Sunday's match at Olympic Park lengthened considerably as he failed to train fully as he battles a knee injury.

Johnson missed the Storm's two-hour-plus session, instead restricted to a few light runs before heading to the physio's table for treatment.

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