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The Wests Tigers have gone down to the Melbourne Storm in an extra time battle at Leichhardt Oval with Cooper Cronk sealing the match with a well-struck field goal after 85 minutes.
REPORT: CRONK WINS IT FOR STORM IN GOLDEN TIME
Melbourne were the first to get on the board with debutant Suliasi Vunivalu scoring in the opening minute after Richie Kennar sent the Fijian over on his first touch in first grade.
The lead didn’t last for long as Josh Addo-Carr went over five minutes later on debut.
The joint venture had another opportunity in the tenth minute with Robbie Farah putting a kick through and Chris Lawrence being held back by Richie Kennar.
The decision went upstairs but was ruled no try with Kennar sin-binned for a professional foul and Jordan Rankin kicking the penalty goal.
Wests Tigers extended their lead soon after with Luke Brooks intercepting Cooper Cronk to go over under the sticks.
Meanwhile Marika Koroibete had a go at the line four minutes later with the Fijian winger running down the sideline and having his try overturned after his pinkie finger came in contact with the sideline.
The Tigers almost got another intercept try with Naiqama stealing a pass from Blake Green however Josh Addo-Carr was too fast for the Fijian as she ran through knocking on.
There were no more scoring moments in the first half with the Wests Tigers pleasing their home fans at Leichhardt Oval and going into half-time ahead by eight points.
The tides turned in the second term with Melbourne taking control of the game early on as Cooper Cronk scored in the 43rd minute.
The momentum flowed the way of the Storm with Suliasi Vunivalu crashing over in the 52nd minute with fellow Fijian Marika Koroibete scoring six minutes later.
Kevin Naiqama put the Wests Tigers within two points ten minutes later with Jordan Rankin kicking a penalty goal with two minutes left to send the game into extra time.
After a plethora of missed field goal attempts, Cooper Cronk finally ended the game with just seconds to go in the first half of golden point giving the Melbourne Storm a win and extending the Wests Tigers’ winless streak.
Tohu Harris and Cameron Smith were both outstanding for the Storm while Jesse Bromwich, Cooper Cronk and Kevin Proctor also stood out for the visitors.
Robbie Farah led the way for the Wests Tigers with Josh Addo-Carr having a strong debut for the joint venture and Suliasi Vunivalu staking a claim for a Fiji Bati jumper on debut for the Storm.
The Wests Tigers now head to Canberra to take on the Raiders while the Storm will host the Warriors in their annual Anzac Day clash.
Final score:
Wests Tigers 18
Melbourne Storm 19
Rugby league returns to Leichhardt Oval when the Wests Tigers take on the Melbourne Storm in what shapes as a tantalising matchup. Join The Roar from 4pm (AEST) for live coverage.
The Wests Tigers haven’t won since defeating the Sea Eagles back in Round 2. The joint venture came close to defeating the Knights last week but they were unable to hold on as the Novocastrians came away with an 18-16 win at home to extend Wests’ winless streak to four rounds.
With the Tigers playing in front of a Leichhardt Oval crowd, they have a huge opportunity to turn things around and get a win over the Storm who have so far won four of their six games this season.
Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks will need to step up if the Tigers are to win at the spiritual home of the Balmain Tigers, with the cub halves having to lead the way in the absence of skipper Aaron Woods, absent with an ankle injury which will see him miss the Anzac Test and possibly State of Origin I.
The loss of Woods is huge for the Tigers who lack size up front with their young pack struggling to match it with the NRL’s best forwards, their meeting with the Storm will be an immense challenge with Melbourne’s pack boasting three New Zealand internationals as well as budding Kiwis Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Kenneath Bromwich who are tracking for their international debuts.
The Storm were unable to defeat the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs last Monday night in Melbourne however, Craig Bellamy’s forwards put in a brilliant display with Jesse Bromwich leading the way for the Victorians.
The Tigers will be no easy beats and the Storm will find it hard to defeat the joint venture at Leichhardt.
The two clubs have met on 26 occasions since 1998 with the Storm having won the majority of encounters with 16 victories to the Tigers’ ten.
The joint venture won in their last meeting, their only encounter of 2015, with an impressive 34-16 win during round 21.
Prediction
Melbourne’s forward pack will muscle up and knock over the Tigers at Leichhardt.
Storm by 10.
Join The Roar from 4pm (AEST) for live score updates and debate in our live blog.
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