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.
steveng
Roar Rookie
You mean '48′ Penalty against Asofa-Solomona for tripping Moses' that was a deliberate trip and should have been a 'sin bin' offence but as Sterlo said in the old days that would have been a 'send off' offence.
steveng
Roar Rookie
What about in the '48′ Penalty against Asofa-Solomona for tripping Moses' penalty only? That should have been a sin bin or at worst a send off.
Mark Keighran
Guest
The Bunker ????
Mark Keighran
Guest
just before half time a kick in general play went dead......... NO TOUCH shouted the referee & touch judge - 20 metre restart for the tigers..... enter The Bunker.. no that was touched by a tiger.. well if that was right i suppose it was right... i mean, thats what The Bunker is for.... to get those important decisions right... Hats Off To The Bunker...... so glad theyre on to those calls... it just makes it a fairer game....
Muzz
Guest
Can we also invest in a BS detector and clamp it to Archer.
jamesb
Guest
....Also the bunker should have hot spot and snicko
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Well, Channel Nine keep cutting out the audio of the bunker so the whole thing is a crock of junk now.
Muzz
Guest
I just don't like it's price tag! For $2 million i'd want heat sensing, GPS and the audio to sound like he's in a co ckpit.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
I'm not a fan of the bunker. The on-field ref ought to be the final authority, right or wrong.
Muzz
Guest
I don't think we've seen the last of that trip. I also thought Proctor obstructed the Tigers B defender when Cronk scored. Good to see the Bunker has finally found the zoom button.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Sorry, by weird I meant the refereeing. That 'obstruction' ruling for a trip, I mean, that was just silly. After seeing that, I've no doubt there has been a directive of sorts to not send players off. Which I simply cannot fathom as to why. If a player is injured because of a trip, well... In anycase, the drama of a close game tends overshadow the quality and that, to me, is fine.
Benedict Arnold
Guest
Yep he totally did, "just check if the ball went forward". It was a pass. I dunno, everybody is blowing up about the reffing in this game and that melbourne were getting the rub of the green. I thought the officiating was shocking for both sides. Finucane was rolled onto his head in one of the tackles and looked pretty dangerous and it is play on. There was a couple of decisions where I think Klein made an effort to not officiate on them. And with respect to that forward pass one, a decision where he went out of his way to try and bend the rule when he shouldn't (on forward passes). As for the send off, any Storm fan will be glad with that decision. How the tigers did not score in the next ten minutes is surprising but the whole game in itself was a shambles. I'm a storm supporter and truthfully a PT should have been awarded there. Best MVPs for me were Bromwich, Finucane and Harris. Actually most of the storm forwards. Huge numbers on the stats charts. J. Bromwich 222 metres 34 tackles. D. FInucane 144m 55 tackles and Harris 175m 49 tackles. But obviously lowest quality match this round.
Muzz
Guest
The standard was that of a trial game however it was still entertaining as it was a close contest. Yesterdays Broncos Pty Ltd v Knights was a farce! Someone please send in the auditors.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Very weird game. Didn't the referee ask the bunker to adjudicate on a forward pass in the lead up to one of the Storm's try? I thought that video ref's weren't allowed to adjudicate on whether a pass or tap on goes forward or not. In anycase, I wasn't impressed by the Tigers. Sure, Melbourne looked rusty and all that but they still ground their way from behind to win the match.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
MVP Nominations 3 - Tohu Harris 2 - Cameron Smith 1 - Robbie Farah Wests Tigers 18 Melbourne Storm 19
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
FULL-TIME The Wests Tigers hold the lead at half-time in their battle with the Melbourne Storm at Leichhardt Oval. 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 pletora 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. Wests Tigers 18 Melbourne Storm 19
On a roll
Guest
Well at least JT has the tigers on a roll!'
Joe
Roar Rookie
Finucane was a great purchase for the Storm. Great motor and hits hard.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Quiet achieving play of the game; Finucane sprinting from marker to get out and put Moses off his drop goal attempt from 15 out.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Storm just scrape through there. Cam Smith brain snap almost cost them. Moses needs to practice drop goals...he had the best opportunity of the lot. Good debut from Suli, just needs to watch his ball control. Both teams made too many mistakes and the weather didn't help.