So basically, the Storm team is extremely average and the fact that Smith, Slater and Cronk are SO good is what holds that team together like NO OTHER.
You say that after they lost by 4 points to a team that had won 6 in a row, a team that was only missing a single player to origin, a team who has a golden boot winner, a team that was short priced favorites to win the competition this year, and they actually came very close to snatching a win.
You ask how many storm players would make the broncos/manly/etc team? Well if they wanted to be on top of the ladder after 14 weeks, 17 of them would make the broncos/manly/etc team. 3 players don't win you the 11 from the first 13 games.
You can't honestly believe that many teams would knock off a near full strength top 4 side without their 3 best players who also are the 3 most important positions in a team, can you?
Take Thaiday (or hannant more like it at this stage of the season), hodges and Wallace out and the broncos would struggle to beat a top 8 team.
Take marshall, Farrah and anyone out of the tigers and they lose. Hell, just take Marshall out and they lose lol.
Gallen, carney, Gardner.
Kidley, Mullen, Boyd.
Soward, cooper, hornby.
Hayne, anyone, anyone.
Cherry Evans, watmough, Stewart.
Inglis, Taylor, Luke
None of those are even 1-7-9 like Melbourne, and they are the most important positions in a footy team.
If you seriously think that any team wouldn't struggle without their top 3, your origin-period idiocy has progressed much further than anyone could've imagined.