The Melbourne Storm have held on to defeat the Gold Coast Titans at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
The 20-14 win won’t go down as one of the Storm’s best. However, their scramble defence at the end will please Craig Bellamy.
The Titans’ intentions were clear early on. After an early one on one strip by Brandon Smith, the Storm were camped on the Titans’ try line early in the game. But, in contrast to last weekend, the Titans held their line well and were then the first to score.
With 16 minutes gone, Jayden Campbell did his father proud by showing some silky footwork on the right edge. He got the pass away to Patrick Herbert who slipped the offload to Greg Marzhew. Marzhew crossed untouched in the corner to score in his first NRL game.
It only took three minutes for the Storm to hit back. Perhaps stung by the Titan’s first try, Jahrome Hughes left Jaimin Jolliffe and Brian Kelly grasping at air as he went through the gap. Reimis Smith was backing up on the inside and his converted try gave Melbourne a slender lead.
The match then took on a familiar tone with the Storm dominating a backpedalling Titans defence. On the end of an impressive attacking set, Reimis Smith dived over from dummy half to give Melbourne an eight point lead.
Shortly afterwards, Smith found Trent Loiero on the short side. The local Sunshine Coast product got himself one on one with Kelly and there was only ever one outcome likely.
In the space of ten minutes, the Storm had scored three unanswered tries to lead 16-4. The Titans managed to hold on to the break but the Storm had wrestled control of the match.
However, the Titans were again out of the blocks smartly and scored just two minutes into the second half. After an offload error by Dale Finucane, the Gold Coast held good field position. A well-weighted grubber from Ashley Taylor saw Kelly score and tighten the game up.
With just over 25 minutes remaining, the Storm pushed the lead back out to two converted tries. A classy cut out pass from Nicho Hynes found George Jennings in some space and he managed to get the ball down.
This time though, it was the Titans that hit back quickly. After a mistake from Nelson Asofa-Solomona from the kickoff, the Titans got a couple of sets on the Storm line. Some nice work out of dummy half by Erin Clark saw Jarrod Wallace cross for a well-deserved try.
With just over a quarter of the game to go, the lead was back to one converted try.
Some errors had started to creep into the Storm’s game. The Titans had three repeat sets on the Storm’s line but they held the Gold Coast out.
The Storm defence’s job got harder with 13 minutes remaining, when Reimis Smith was sent to the sin bin for a high shot on Jolliffe.
Hynes and Jesse Bromwich were both guilty of errors in the last ten frenetic minutes. The Storm’s defence was heroic to hold on, but Justin Holbrook will lament a lot of missed chances. The Titans’ left edge was particularly at fault, with Kelly, Esan Marsters and Phillip Sami all butchering chances in the final minutes.
The Storm had kept their amazing run of 23 straight wins in Queensland alive. It was ugly at times but Craig Bellamy won’t be too concerned. Every two competition points at Origin time can be like gold at season end.
Three points: Brandon Smith had a hand in two of the Storm tries and his work rate was second to none. Smith has the great quality of being able to do something special for his team exactly when they need it.
Two points: Jarrod Wallace was massive for the Titans. Apart from his customary hit-ups and offloads, Wallace also looked good in a second receiver role.
One point: Jahrome Hughes made the break leading to Melbourne’s first try and was the focal point of the Storm’s attack all night.
PB Meister
Roar Rookie
I was at that game. Came up from Melbourne to attend my first ever live GF. My brother (a Saints supporter) was consoling me at half time assuring me that the Storm still had a chance. He was seriously pissed at full time. No consoling from me though... lol.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
They're the most successful club in the NRL, no doubt about it.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Melbourne has highest club membership in the NRL, and was recently voted most successful sports club in Australia (all sports), so they're doing pretty well.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Only TB thinks I’m a bad sport. I would argue with anyone that the guy that knocks someone out from behind with a coward’s punch is the bad sport. I have watched all the grand finals since 1964 and Peter Kelly’s coward punch is the only attack from behind that I can remember. Rod Reddy was the dirtiest Saints player and I can remember him stomping on a Canterbury player’ s head but he was sent off. Kelly wasn’t even penalised.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
How many junior teams do Melbourne have? Rugby League is doing well in NZ, PNG and the Pacific Islands but it is losing to Aussie Rules in NSW and Qld.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Rugby League hasn't taken off in Melbourne has it. The game is losing juniors to Aussie Rules in NSW and Qld and RL needs to have a team in Perth. PVL says AF is boring so the game is in good hands.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
I still remember Preston running around Shark Park as if it was yesterday
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Gee I love a good Conspiracy Theorist debate. Next you’ll have us believe Dufty was a plant by the Storm to bring down Hook.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
I did not realise. It's hard to believe he really thinks the NRL is in the business of rigging grand finals. If he thinks that, why does he even follow the game at all?
The Barry
Roar Guru
Duncan, try not to get involved. Tim Buck is a serial bad sport who makes massive excuses for every major Dragons loss In 1985 the Dragons lost to the Bulldogs because John Quayle and Ken Arthurson hated the Dragons because of their 11 year winning streak and appointed Kevin Roberts who basically c.heated and allowed the Bulldogs to get away with foul play the whole game to ensure a Dogs victory. He changes the facts of the game and conveniently ignores all of the Dragons foul play In 1995, for some reason the ARL rigged the Bulldogs v Dragons semi final in the Bulldogs favour because four of their players had signed with the ARL, conveniently ignoring the fact the entire Dragons club had signed with the NRL Now we have this 1999 guff that the Grand Final was fixed by Bill Harriman and the NSWRL I’m sure there’s many more. He’s completely delusional but seems harmless enough...
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
It isn't hard to understand why the NRL wanted an ‘exciting’ game to sell to the Victorian market after. Do you agree that the AFL give their teams help in NSW and Qld? Do you care that RL is way behind the AFL when comparing the two games. I have answered your other points but you don't seem to understand that the NRL is a business in competition with the AFL. It wasn't like the 1985 grand final where we were robbed. I doubt you could explain why the referee allowed Peter Kelly to knock out Graeme Wynn with a punch from behind or allow Michael O'Connor to be elbowed by Andrew Farrar without either being penalised. Saints had drawn once and had defeated Canterbury in the rounds and beat them in the major semi 17-6. Can you explain how they got away with taking out the Saints main attacking players with not even a penalty? Your belief in the referees being fair and above criticism would suggest you won't be able to explain how it was fair. Arthurson and Quayle thought it was okay. They thanked me for my interest in their game.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
6) A St George-Illawarra win would not have made much difference to their fans. You don't dump your team when they lose big games but a close exciting game would be great for the game in Melbourne. The supporting evidence is that the previous seven halves were completely different to the second half of the grand final and implies that the NRL were trying to win fans in the heartland of their biggest competitors. I don't see the mayhem that you imagine. Why are you unwilling to accept that the NRL are in competition with the AFL?
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
4. A Melbourne defeat would not have meant a loss of interest in the game in Victoria. It only had to be close. Why do you think the AFL tries to help the Sydney Swans, Brisbane Lions and the others? 5. The NRL didn't ‘compel’ Ainscough to do anything. He did well to get to the other side of the field and he was trying to punch the ball away and hit Smith's head. And Mundine didn't drop that ball, it was knocked out of his hands by the Melbourne defender. The Melbourne player did very well and saved a try.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
I don't think anything I say will change your mind. So I will simply say that I think you are wrong about this, but if you want to believe it, that's your business.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
3. If the NRL wanted Melbourne to win, why did they ‘allow’ St George to go to a 14-2 lead at halftime? St George would have only needed to score 1-2 second half tries, and would have been unbeatable. There is no doubt the NRL wanted Melbourne to make it a close exciting game unlike the previous encounters and the AFL grand final. 4. Melbourne getting beaten as they did in the previous encounters wouldn't have done much good for the Aussie Rules mad Victorians. The AFL give their teams help in NSW and Qld so why shouldn’t the NRL do the same?
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
If I can take the most generous interpretation of your comments, it's that Gallop told Harrigan to favour Melbourne for the sake of an exciting and even grand final, but without actually insisting that they win. Even this amounts to a major case of tampering, and if it was found to be true, the consequences would be severe. But as you have not the slightest evidence it is true, and you will never get any, I don't know why you bother raising the idea. The far more likely truth is simply that St George blew a 14-2 halftime lead, and can only blame themselves. You'd be better accepting that, rather than believe St George was robbed by Gallop and Harrigan.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
em> This would require Bill Harrigan to also be cor-upt. If there’s one ref I’d back for integrity, and refusing to follow orders, it would be Harrigan. 2. The referees have always claimed to be separate but they are employees of the NRL and they don't work for free. Bill Harrigan is a great bloke but many people remember the alleged error he made in the 1989 grand final against Balmain. 3. The NRL wanted an exciting game to show Victorians we don't have boring blowouts in the GGOA. With St.G-Ill leading 14-2 at halftime it only needed the boss, Gallop?, to remind Bill the AFL grand final was a boring blowout and we don't want that.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
You wrote "the grand final was handed to Melbourne for the good of Rugby League." That suggests fixxing and corru-tion. Do you really think the NRL bosses told Bill Harrigan, at halftime, how to ref the second half and to favour Melbourne? To suggest that the NRL exerted influence over a GRAND FINAL does indeed imply corru-ption on a major scale - far worse, for example than what the Aussie cricket team did in South Africa. You suggest that the NRL simply wanted an even, and 'exciting' game to sell to the Victorian market, so told Harrigan to favour Melbourne in the second half. This alone would be a major scandal. You have not answered my other points. I find your aguments unconvincing, and I believe they stem purely from your need to believe "we-wuz-robbed" about St George in the 99 GF.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
1. No I said :- they only wanted to make it an exciting grand final to gain support from the people of Melbourne who had, the day before, witnessed a boring blowout in their grand final. The second half was very different from the previous seven halves; The AFL give their teams help in NSW and Qld so why shouldn’t the NRL do the same? This implies corru-tion at the highest level of the game. No it's a business that is competing with the AFL and the NRL were trying to show Victorians our game is the greatest game of all. Their grand final was boring. It was only one game and I have no problem with Melbourne in this century as they have always been strong.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
I have a few queries: gonna change a few words spelling to get round the mods. 1) You're saying the NRL 'fixxed' the grand final. This implies corru-tion at the highest level of the game. Who was in on it? The CEO? The whole NRL board? Who else? 2) This would require Bill Harrigan to also be cor-upt. If there's one ref I'd back for integrity, and refusing to follow orders, it would be Harrigan. 3) If the NRL wanted Melbourne to win, why did they 'allow' St George to go to a 14-2 lead at halftime? St George would have only needed to score 1-2 second half tries, and would have been unbeatable. 4) A Melbourne defeat would not have meant a loss of interest in the game in Victoria. On the contrary, it would have made Victorians more hungry for success. 5) How did the NRL 'compel' Ainscough to give away a penalty try, and Mundine to drop that ball? 6) A St George-Illawarra win would have been great for the game, representing both glory for one of Sydney's most famous clubs, and the success of one of the controversial new merged clubs. In short, your theory is rather fanciful, has very little supporting evidence, and implies mayhem at the highest level of the game. Believing it must stem from your disappointment as a St George fan, and your unwillingness to accept that they blew a big halftime lead and a massive opportunity to win a premiership.