Melbourne’s 38–24 comeback victory over the New Zealand Warriors in rainy Auckland conditions has pushed them to the top of the NRL standings once more.
The visitors could not have gotten off to a worse start as the Warriors controlled the first 20 minutes, controlling almost all of the ball. Within six minutes, Adam Pompey’s slide foul in the damp circumstances gave the home team the lead.
Before the 20-minute mark, the Warriors were ahead 8 points thanks to a penalty goal. Marcelo Montoya managed to cross the line in the corner, but Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad’s incredible flick pass out the back did the damage. With his third goal of the game, Adam Pompey gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead.
After a penalty placed the Storm in an attacking position and Eli Katoa used some sorcery to quickly take the ball off Adam Pompey after he landed to score Melbourne’s first, things rapidly started to turn in favour of the visitors.
Grant Anderson went over after the X Man, and Xavier Coates was able to fly high and tap the ball back for Anderson to score, giving the Melbournians the upper hand. Four points behind, Nick Meaney’s missed conversion kept the Storm in the game.
In the span of seven minutes, Melbourne managed to tie the score and then take the lead when Dean Ieremia got over and the Warriors defense was caught infield. Nick Meaney then scored following more excellent work from Eli Katoa. Meaney’s conversion of his own try put the Storm ahead, improbably, 20–14 at the break.
The Warriors came out swinging in the second half, with Mitch Barnett spotting a sniff on the line and going straight after it to cut the deficit to just two points. Adam Pompey’s attempt at a conversion was a complete mess, and the final score stayed 20–18.
The second half saw the Warriors’ wheels come off, as a try by Jazz Tevaga was foiled due to a previous foul play penalty against Te Maire Martin, who was fortunately not sin binned but was placed on report.
Not so lucky for Marcelo Montoya, who tackled Jahrome Hughes offside after the Storm halfback took a fast tap and was given 10 minutes in the sin bin for a professional foul. When they veered to the right, the Storm were able to capitalize on the additional man, allowing Sua Fa’alogo to cross in the corner.
If things were looking bad for the Warriors, they rapidly got worse when Dallin was penalized for a high and off-the-ball hit on Grant Anderson, which led to DWZ’s eventual sin bin sentence following a protracted argument between Gerard Sutton and bunker official Liam Kennedy.
Xavier Coates managed to get over in the corner as the Storm took advantage of the additional manpower and a small kick through the defensive line. With his conversion, Nick Meaney put the visitors ahead 32–18.
Marcelo Montoya scored a second try in the corner, and Chanel Harris-Tavita converted to bring the Warriors’ late comeback attempt to within eight points. However, Sua Fa’alogo’s touchdown inside the last ninety seconds put an end to that. Shortly before the end of play, Nick Meaney scored a convert to complete the 38-24 victory.
The Storm, without their starting lineup, will play the Dolphins in Brisbane next week, and the Warriors will play the Titans in Queensland.
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