The Melbourne Storm defeated The Dolphins in the Saturday night match of Indigenous Round.
Result
Melbourne Storm (Wurundjeri) 24
Tries: (4) Will Warbrick 6th; Cameron Munster 16th; Eliesa Kotoa 31st, Reimis Smith 35th
Goals: (4)Nick Meaney 8th, 18th, 32nd, 36th
Dolphins (Turrbal, Yuggera, Ningy Ningy, & Kabi Kabi) 16
Tries: (3) Jamayne Isaako 12th, 65th; Kodi Nikorima 73rd
Goals: (2) Jamayne Isaako 67th, 74th
Report
The match-up between The Dolphins and the Melbourne Storm in the prime time Saturday night slot was a highly anticipated top eight clash and it certainly lived up to the hype.
It took only a single minute for this match to heat up, with Felise Kaufusi sent to the bin (and arguably lucky not to be completely sent off) for a swinging arm, allowing Melbourne to capitalise on the one-man advantage and grab their first points of the evening through Will Warbrick only minutes later. It didn’t take long for The Dolphins to hit back with an effort from Jamayne Isaako, before the Storm regained the lead through Cameron Munster.
It would be a Melbourne onslaught for the remainder of the first half, with tries to Eliesa Katoa and Reimis Smith giving the Craig Bellamy-coached side a 24-4 lead going into the break.
It was a different story in the second 40 of the match, with the Storm failing to score a single point in the second half, and The Dolphins attempting a courageous fightback in the final 10 minutes of the evening.
With end-to-end footy making up the majority of the middle portion of the game, it would take until the 67th minute for Isaako to go over for his second of the night and keep the home side in touch of victory. It was then an impressive drive over the line from Kodi Nikorima that really gave The Dolphins a chance to make a comeback with six minutes remaining.
It would be classic gritty Melbourne defence that ended up cinching the two points, as they managed to scramble and hold out a desperate Dolphins attacking rampage to finish the game with a 24-16 victory.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Cameron Munster (Storm)
2 – Jamayne Isaako (Dolphins)
1 – Nick Meaney (Storm)
