Melbourne Storm’s sensational six-game win streak in the Jersey Flegg competition has come to an end, suffering a defeat at the hands of St George Illawarra 22-12 at Seabrook Reserve on Sunday.
Taking the field back home after a successful outing in Newcastle last week, it was Storm who started the match making all the attacking moves.
The first ten minutes saw the home side with all the play in their attacking half, breaking through the Dragons’ line multiple times, but were unable to put any damage on the scoreboard.
Despite all the momentum going against them, it was the Dragons who broke the deadlock in the 15th minute, courtesy of a lovely run from five-eighth Nicholas Quinn down the left edge which allowed Harry Rudd to waltz over the line to give the away side a 6-0 early lead with conversion.
Rudd’s try would see the Dragons get into a groove and take control away from Storm, crossing over once again in the 23rd minute thanks to a glorious pass towards the right wing from halfback Ashton Ward which left Storm’s defence exposed, enabling winger Cooper Roberts to find the try line with ease.
With the scoreboard reading 10-0 against them, Storm stayed strong on defence and reaped the rewards in the 34th minute, after Hooker Gabriel Starick kept the ball alive on tackle five after a lunging attempt at the line saw Jordan Wilson pounce on the loose ball to find Jerry Pusu who found the try line to open the account for the home side right before halftime.
A kick conversion from captain Keagan Russell-Smith cut the Dragons’ lead down to four going into halftime.
It was the Dragons who started the second half on top, with winger Cooper Roberts crossing over for his second try of the afternoon in the 44th minute to take their lead back to ten points.
Storm weren’t gonna go down without a fight, getting multiple looks at an answer to try and cut the Dragons’ lead back down to within single digits, but a length of the field run from fullback Benjamin Rumble in the 51st minute and kick conversion would make the hopes of a comeback for the home side all the more difficult.
A bit of magic by foot from Stanley Huen opened up space for Poasi Manu to ground the grubber kick to give Storm their second try of the afternoon.
With the door slightly ajar for a remarkable comeback, the Dragons held strong to see out the final siren and take the two points back with them with a 22-12 point win.
Storm will next host the ladder-leading Sydney Roosters at Seabrook Reserve on Sunday at 2pm, and a win could see them jump into the top-4.
