A young Storm side gave it there all but came up agonisingly short against the Roosters, falling in goldent point 25-24.
Without four of their Origin stars, a famous Stormwin was well within reach but two late tries to Sydney evened up the scores and they came up with the decisive field goal as the 21,000-strong Adelaide Oval crowd were treated to a fantastic game of rugby league.
Despite the dissapointing result there was still countless promising from Melbourne's rising stars.
Storm debutant Jahrome Hughes was outstanding at fullback, scoring a try and running for 174 metres.
Brodie Croft also got on the try sheet and was again creative at halfback as he formed a dynamic pairing alongside Cameron Munster.
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Right from the outsight this young Storm team was up for the contest, trading sets with the Roosters.
Some bad luck saw them surrender the first try of the game after 15 minutes but the refused to let it shake them and hit back with two of their own.
In the 25th minute with Sydney deep in Storm territory Josh Addo-Carr swooped on an errant pass and when he gets the ball with 90 metres in front of him there is simply no catching the man.
Moments later they had another, brought on by a Felise Kaufusi line break on halfway who then laid it off to rising star Brodie Croft to streak away for a 12-6 half-time lead.
After an inspired first half the first try after the restart would be vital and it would be Melbourne who edged further in front.
It came via the quick hands of Cameron Munster who found Addo-Carr in the blink of an eye as the winger went aerial for a finish well worth the highlight reel.
After seeing what his teammate did on one side of the field Suliasi Vunivalu matched the effort in the 52nd minute.
Again it was a fast string of passes that found the ball in the hands of the Fijian, he then leapt as only he can to score one of the greatest tries you will see this season.
With 20 minutes to go the Roosters found a way over to cut the deficit back to eight points.
As the game ticked closer to the 70th minute though Storm charged at the Roosters line as debutant Jahrome Hughes took it upon himself to score a try and restore a 24-12 advantage.
However just as it seemed victory was in sight Sydney pinched two late tries to send the game into golden point and it was Mitchell Pearce who stepped up to sink the field goal and purple hearts.
Melbourne Storm 24
Tries: Josh Addo-Carr 2, Brodie Croft, Suliasi Vunivalu
Goals: Cameron Munster 2
Sydney Roosters 25
Tries: Mitchell Aubusson, Latrell Mitchell, Daniel Tupou, Blake Ferguson
Goals: Michael Gordon 3
Field Goal: Mitchell Pearce
