The 22-year-old has been called upon to replace superstar Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster as they tackle a desperate Bulldogs outfit at Accor Stadium on Friday night.
Munster, Melbourne skipper Harry Grant and forward Trent Loiero will miss the match, in camp with Queensland, while Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton is on State of Origin duty with NSW.
Russell-Smith is a Panthers junior, having partnered Dolphins ace Isaiya Katoa in the halves in their SG Ball team in 2022.
Russell-Smith booted a late goal from the sideline to secure a 22-20 victory in their grand final against the Sydney Roosters.
His opportunities to make his mark in Melbourne have been limited to just one appearance, in round 26 in 2024, with Jonah Pezet and Tyran Wishart ahead in the pecking order.
But with Pezet at Parramatta and Wishart injured, Russell-Smith gets another crack with coach Craig Bellamy impressed by the youngster, noted for his organising ability, strong kicking game and solid defence.
"He's a smart kid, he's a skilful kid and he's a tough kid as well ... Â he'll stand up to the defensive part of it," Bellamy said on Thursday.
"At the end of the day we don't want to put any pressure on him, we just want him to go out there, play his game, stick to what he is good at."
The Bulldogs have racked up five straight losses with Melbourne finding their way out a hole after their own seven-match losing streak to win their last two matches.
Their improved defence has been key, while they have also managed to find some consistency after some wild form swings through their run of defeats.
Bellamy expected rival coach Cameron Ciraldo to also work out a way to solve Canterbury's woes.
"Obviously they've been having a bit of a tough run lately, but there's a lot of good players in that team," he said.
"Cameron's a really good coach as well, so they'll be looking to find their way out of it, and we're just going to worry about us this week and go from there.
"The biggest thing in the last two weeks is we're more consistent over the 80 minutes, so, hopefully we'll continue on that one."
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