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The Storm have earnt a week off after a clinical performance against the Cowboys in front of a strong Melbourne crowd.
Melbourne had the lion’s share of possession early on after a 40/20 from Cameron Smith saw them set up camp in the Cowboys’ red zone with a number of repeat sets following some brilliant kicking from Smith and Cooper Cronk.
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The tables turned soon after with Johnathan Thurston having his chance to apply pressure on the Melbourne line.
The first points came after 29 minutes with Smith kicking a penalty goal before Melbourne crossed through Suliasi Vunivalu to move six points in front, the flying Fijian bagging his 23rd try in his rookie season after picking up on the loose ball.
North Queensland kept pressing late in the first half, finally cracking the Melbourne defensive line with a Thurston grubber charged down landing in the hands of Lachlan Coote to send Antonio Winterstein over and levelling proceedings 6-all at the break.
The second half continued as it left off with more high-calibre football, the deadlock was broken with Cameron Smith kicking another penalty goal to put the home side in front by two.
Only three minutes later Melbourne edged further in front with Jesse Bromwich powering through four defenders to extend the Storm’s led to eight points.
It took another ten minutes until the Cowboys made their way back into the game with Johnathan Thurston sending it down the right hand side for Michael Morgan to put Kyle Feldt over.
Feldt conceded a costly penalty with under five minutes remaining, Cameron Smith kicking a penalty goal to secure a six-point victory and preliminary final for the Storm.
Cameron Smith, Tohu Harris, Cooper Cronk and Jesse Bromwich stood out for Melbourne while the Cowboys’ halves pairing of Johnathan Thurston and Michael Morgan starring alongside Lachlan Coote.
North Queensland now prepare to back-up and host the Broncos in a grand final rematch in Townsville. Melbourne meanwhile have a week off and will then play either the Canberra Raiders, Penrith Panthers or Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for a spot in the big dance.
Final score:
Melbourne Storm 16
North Queensland Cowboys 10
Possession: 52% – 48%
Completions: 33/37 (89%) – 26/32 (81%)
All Runs: 159 – 150
All Run Metres: 1547 – 1322
Line Breaks: 3 – 2
Offloads: 2 – 3
Tackles: 357 – 366
Missed Tackles: 16 – 29
Penalties: 6 – 3
Errors: 4 – 7
Finals MVP Nominations
3 – Cameron Smith
2 – Tohu Harris
1 – Michael Morgan
You can find Riley on Twitter @rileypettigrew.
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