Melbourne have continued their ominous surge towards the NRL finals with a 28-6 defeat of Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium with superstar halfback Cooper Cronk leading the way.
Cronk laid on four of the visitors’ five tries before 7,782 fans on Monday night as the embattled Tigers’ finals hopes took a blow in a tribute game to injured former forward Simon Dwyer.
Melbourne have now won three straight since the end of the State of Origin period, to move into sixth spot on the NRL ladder.
The Tigers struck first after eight minutes through Sitaleki Akauola out wide but from then on it was all the Storm.
Former Tigers winger Marika Koroibete replied when he snaffled a Ben Roberts kick in the 18th minute and just a few minutes later a short side ball from Cronk laid on the another one for the Fijian flyer.
With halfback Luke Brooks a late withdrawal with a shoulder injury, the Tigers had been strong through the first 10 minutes but Melbourne dominated much of the first half from then on.
Cronk put Will Chambers in the clear in the 36th minute and the Queensland winger easily beat a slipping fullback Mitchell Moses to score a 35m try for Melbourne to go to the break 18-6 ahead.
Cronk then kicked for a flying Sisa Waqa on the opposite wing to Koroibete 10 minutes after the break and the Maroons playmaker then combined with his fellow Queensland stars Billy Slater and Cameron Smith when the No.9 scored in the 54th minute.
Those were the last points of the match as emotions almost boiled over for the frustrated Tigers in the final 20 minutes, with a number of heated incidents between the two sides.
Tigers winger Pat Richards left the field with a hamstring injury in the first half and didn’t return to add to a mounting injury toll.
Akauola was placed on report for a shoulder charge on Slater late in the second stanza.
Internal rumblings over the future of coach Mick Potter appear to have taken their toll on the 12th-placed Tigers, who have lost four of their last five matches and realistically need to win four of their five remaining games to make the finals.
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
And yet, the record books will read: 2014 New South Wales No room on the trophy for anything else either, unfortunately.
Jay C
Guest
Come on johnno. Mate. There is bitter. But then there is just silly. If you can't see the class of these 3 players then you need to untint your glasses. Cooper Cronk is the ultimate professional footballer. I don't go for Storm but these 3 guys are a class above.
johnno
Guest
Rubbish. But he may have committed the same dirty professional fouls like obstructing chasers with shoulder charges and escaping the bin. Seriously. What's tge fixation with the so called big three. One a thug. One a cheat and the other a sneaky arse-kissing manipulator of the refs.
Rumor
Guest
Watching that last night and the last few games. NSW need to thank their gods that Cronk got injured during origin 1. If he stayed fit, and still NSW had a full compliment, it would have been 3-0 Qld.
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
Agreed. Just in case you missed it (!) http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/07/15/we-need-to-talk-about-cooper-cronk/
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Cronk is what professional rugby league should be about.Hard work, constant physical attention,a reader of the game,a leader by example,an example off the field and a joy to watch as he acts as a conductor of moves.. With him on board the Storm are a strong G/F chance,without no way Jose.Despite the presence of the other super duo: Slater and Smith.
Johnnyball
Guest
Cronk would give A Johns lessons
Blaze
Guest
I can pretty much guarantee that any team in the comp would have put their hands up to play the tigers last night.... Kinda wish the season was over already...
KenAgain
Guest
Here comes the Storm!
ferret
Guest
Absolutely. One of the best worked moves I've seen in a long time.
curaeus
Guest
Very true. I still can't understand why they let Korobieye go when they are critically short of decent backs with NRL experience!
MAX
Guest
Agreed ++++ Muzz, He would have to be in the top ten most intelligent RL players of all time. Pleasure to witness his playing skills . His future career as a coach will also be stellar.
Muzz
Guest
Cronk just keeps getting better. He's a freak.That short ball to put Chambers through a hole was top shelf.
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
I actually thought the Tigers went OK. By the end, they were missing their first choice 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Not many teams can survive that. Had a five eighth playing fullback, backrowers playing on the wing and in the centres, and a winger playing for the other team...
Fairy fairfax
Roar Rookie
You fail to mention the outstanding contribution of Slater. Honestly, his spatial awareness is awesome. How he manages to calculate the exact relative correlation between his knees, elbows and those mercurial sprigged boots of his with the trajectory of of an opposition player is a lesson for all thugs - sorry, players.. Not to mention the moral courage he displays when selflessly giving away deliberate penalties on his line. He is a credit to the game.
Jay C
Guest
Storm Cowboys grand final!