Ryan Papenhuyzen's return from injury was overshadowed by a horror night off the tee, forcing Craig Bellamy to strip him of kicking duties mid-game.
The Melbourne fullback missed three shots, including one that cannoned off both uprights, leaving the Storm vulnerable in a narrow 16-10 victory.
The 27-year-old was hitting 84 per cent of his conversions heading into the contest, after his struggles, he dropped to 80 per cent.
Nick Meaney was brought in to excuse Papenhuyzen of his kicking duties, drilling one from the sideline in his lone attempt.
Bellamy's frustration was plain after Papenhuyzen's third miss, with cameras capturing the coach's animated reaction before handing goal-kicking over to the reliable Meaney.
Post-game, Papenhuyzen admitted the switch had been flagged at halftime.
"Our kicking coach actually told me it was a good idea if we swap," he said speaking to Nine.
"I sort of had one of those games and got the hook, so there's plenty of practice coming up in the next week.
"I guess I will be reserve kicker now, but you've still got to be ready."
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Bellamy confirmed in his post-match comments that the change isn't going to be temporary moving forward.
"We will go back to Nick next week, to be quite honest," he said.
Despite his kicking woes, Papenhuyzen remains a key figure for Melbourne. But his role as first-choice goal kicker now looks over - at least for now.