The Western Storm ruckman will return to the team's line-up today for its do-or-die State League semi-final against Lauderdale after a six-week absence due to a knee injury.

The 21-year-old was a vital missing element to the Storm's set-up in that time, particularly in their successive losses to North Launceston.

"The focus for us this week will be to ensure we win the clearances," Thorp said yesterday.

"We've just got to ensure we can win the hard ball, but with me back in the ruck and Haydn (Smith) going through there, we should have a huge advantage in the ruck.

"We lost all the clearances and stoppage work against North, which really killed us and we just didn't win the contested ball.

"I thought the last few weeks we have been off track with our ruck work and in the stoppages, but we need to get that back on track."

The 21-year-old said he expected a Lauderdale opposition that would be as equally hard at the ball as he expected he and his Storm teammates will be.

Thorp has managed just the seven games this season due to injury and suspension, and believed he could use this to his advantage in the coming weeks if he gets the opportunity, saying he felt "very fresh".