In a match that was everything it was expected to be, the Melbourne Storm have claimed the minor premiership with what ended up being a dominating 20-point victory over the Cronulla Sharks
The Storm were fantastic for the duration of the game, and while the Sharks certainly didn’t put in what could be considered a bad performance, they just didn’t execute when in possession.
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Of course, much of that credit must go to the Storm defence, but the Sharks offence looked a little clunky at times with some big breaks going begging. In fact, the Sharks made seven line breaks, for the return of one try.
The Storm, though, were the better of the sides through the middle of the park and in a game that was always expected to be physical, that was a big part of the reason they were able to take the win.
On the back of that, it was Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk, with influence from Blake Green and Cameron Munster who were able to guide Melbourne around the park and ensure they got the job done.
The scoring got underway with a pair of penalty goals, with the Sharks sending one over in the 11th minute, and the Storm answering back just four minutes later.
Cheyse Blair would get the try scoring underway just five minutes later, and it would end up being the only try of the first half. The Storm would go left from Blake Green to Blair, and he ran straight through a hole to score under the sticks.
Michael Ennis could also be in some trouble after putting in an ugly looking shoulder charge on Green as he passed out of the line.
From there, the Storm would kick another penalty goal to extend their lead to eight, which is where it stood at halftime.
The Storm didn’t take long to get things going following halftime, with Cheyse Blair crossing for his second try. The Sharks defended the first set quite well, however, a charge down would result in six more tackles and a great segment of passing with some soft defence saw Blair stroll over.
It took almost a quarter of an hour for Melbourne to crash over again, with Suliasi Vunivalu flying through the air to grab a try in the corner from a Cooper Cronk cross-field kick.
The Sharks would keep some small hope of a comeback alive with about ten minutes to go as Gerard Beale crossed in the corner off the back of a penalty and wonderful Michael Ennis try assist.
Melbourne though, would grind through much of the next couple of minutes, and despite some opportunities, Cronulla couldn’t capitalise and Jesse Bromwich would barge his way over off a Cameron Smith pass.
In the end, the Storm way too good for the Sharks, who just couldn’t execute enough to go close.
Final Score
Melbourne Storm 26
Cronulla Sharks 6
Match Statistics
Tries: Storm (4), Sharks (1)
Conversions: Storm (3/4), Sharks (0/1)
Penalty Goals: Storm (2/2), Sharks (1/1)
Possession: Storm (47%), Sharks (53%)
Completions: Storm (33/36), Sharks (28/40)
All runs: Storm (168), Sharks (174)
All run metres: Storm (1585), Sharks (1549)
Line breaks: Storm (3), Sharks (7)
Offloads: Storm (7), Sharks (16)
Tackles: Storm (345), Sharks (333)
Missed tackles: Storm (23), Sharks (43)
Penalties: Storm (5), Sharks (6)
Errors: Storm (6), Sharks (13)
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