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The Melbourne Storm have opened their 2017 NRL campaign with a hard-fought six-point win over the Canterbury Bulldogs at the Belmore Sports Ground.
The Storm scored two tries in the first eight minutes of the contest and in the end that was all they required, with the Bulldogs proving to be incompetent in attack for much of the contest, despite winning possession and having a mountain of opportunities, they simply couldn’t convert them into points.
Some of that may have been as a result of the weather, with the rain bucketing down at Belmore during the second half and ensuring errors would mount up for both teams after what was a pretty clean first half.
Melbourne won the forward battle in the first half and while they struggled during the second half, their defence was fantastic to keep them in the game.
Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith played the guiding hands early in the contest and had the hosts shell-shocked as they beat the clock early.
The first try came in the third minute through Cheyse Blair, as he ran through the line on the left after a great break from Addo-Carr to stretch the defence, getting the Storm on the board.
It was just moments later the Storm would score again. They rolled back up the field on the next set and it was a lovely kick from Cooper Cronk that saw Vunivalu run through for the easy as you like try, despite the Bulldogs jumpers being all around the kick.
The Storm almost had another couple of tries in the first quarter of an hour, but the Bulldogs defence started to get into the game as Melbourne made a few errors.
Worryingly for Melbourne, Jesse Bromwich headed off early in the contest with a reported broken thumb and could spend some time on the sidelines. What was positive for Melbourne was the fact their pack was able to stand up without one of the best front rowers in the world.
The Bulldogs would gain the ascendancy through the last ten minutes. Picking up three penalties in a row allowed them to gain some momentum and get on the scoreboard through Josh Reynolds after Brenko Lee made a break in the middle of the field.
Like the Storm, Canterbury had a couple of opportunities at the end of the first half but couldn’t capitalise on any of them.
The first six minutes of the second half, along with the final four of the first half saw a 12-on-12 game as both Sam Kasiano and Will Chambers were sent to the sin bin for punching, but the scoring was done for the match with neither team able to seize the opportunity.
Melbourne lost their way at the back end of the first half and while they recovered during the second to play good quality football, they weren’t able to crack the Bulldogs line, the weather turning ugly.
Canterbury controlled possession during the first half, but the errors continued to mount up. Time and time again their spine of Michael Lichaa, Will Hopoate and halves Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye looked out of their depth, with dropped balls and poor kicking options allowing the Storm to stay in the contest.
In the end, it was Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk who controlled the game through the final ten minutes, kicking for the corners and ensuring the Storm got through their sets. The Bulldogs simply didn’t look like scoring and a lot of questions need to be answered moving forward.
For Melbourne, it’s only taken them one round to establish their defensive dominance and control that guided them to the grand final last year.
Next weekend, the Storm travel across the ditch to take on the New Zealand Warriors while the Bulldogs must turn it around when they face the Sydney Roosters on Thursday night.
Match Statistics
Tries: Bulldogs (1), Storm (2)
Goals: Bulldogs (1/1), Storm (1/2)
Penalty goals: Bulldogs (nil), Storm (1/1)
Possession: Bulldogs: (54%), Storm (46%)
Completions: Bulldogs (29/40), Storm (31/41)
All runs: Bulldogs (181), Storm (163)
All run metres: Bulldogs (1525), Storm (1580)
Line breaks: Bulldogs (2), Storm (3)
Offloads: Bulldogs (15), Storm (6)
Tackles: Bulldogs (315), Storm (346)
Missed tackles: Bulldogs (21), Storm (29)
Penalties: Bulldogs (9), Storm (6)
Errors: Bulldogs (13), Storm (11)
Sin bins: Bulldogs (1 – Sam Kasiano), Storm (1 – Will Chambers)
Final score
Canterbury Bulldogs 6
Melbourne Storm 12