SEA EAGLES skipper Matt Orford has rejected suggestions that Sunday's grand final is a career-defining game for him and insists there will be more pressure on the Storm.

"Why's the pressure on me?" he said in response to questions about his performances in big games at yesterday's grand final breakfast. "Everyone's saying it's career-defining. I can't see how it has to be a career-defining moment for myself. I'm not going to hang my boots up if I don't have one of my best games."

Despite edging out Melbourne fullback Billy Slater for the Dally M award as this season's best player, Orford, 30, is yet to convince critics he is worthy of such accolades after turning in a poor showing in last year's grand final.

But the Manly playmaker said the Storm faced more pressure in their third consecutive grand final after losing captain Cam Smith to suspension and injured Test second-rower Ryan Hoffman.

"Don't get me wrong, they are still a champion team," he said. "But when you compare the two things I think Melbourne's got a lot more pressure than I do. I think all the pressure's on those guys, to tell you the truth.

"I don't need to overplay my hand. There's nothing I'm going to do differently in this game than I've done the last two weeks. I've been fairly consistent throughout the whole year."

Asked how big a loss Smith would be to the Storm, Orford said: "There's no question that it's a massive hole to fill. He's their leader, he's been their captain for a few years and he's also one of the best players going around in the game, so he's going to be sorely missed. He's irreplaceable, I think."

After injuring both ankles in last week's 32-6 defeat of the Warriors, Orford admitted his kicking game could be affected but said he was not in any doubt for the match.

"Tomorrow I will run fully with the team and get amongst it and rip in and see how I pull up," he said. "I'll look at how I'm going later in the week but if I'm in a bit of discomfort or I'm not striking the ball well, then I've got Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai who can kick as well …

"That's always been a part of my game and I'll try and do it, but if I can't then it's not the end of the world. These guys are quite capable of doing a good job in that area. It's something we've been working on all year and I think you need to in this competition.

"When Jamie was out I was probably the sole kicker in the game and it was very easy for other teams to work it out, so if we can mix it up a bit and make it unpredictable it's going to be very hard to put pressure on one kicker."

Brad Walter