Matt Attard reviews a depleted Melbourne Storm turning in a strong attacking performance against the lowly Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Here’s how the game went.
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 9th | Try Josh Addo-Carr (Melbourne) | Melbourne 4-0 |
| 10th | Goal Cameron Munster (Melbourne) | Melbourne 6-0 |
| 12th | Try Nicholas Hynes (Melbourne) | Melbourne 10-0 |
| 13th | Goal Cameron Munster (Melbourne) | Melbourne 12-0 |
| 14th | Try Justin Olam (Melbourne) | Melbourne 16-0 |
| 22nd | Try Kenneath Bromwich (Melbourne) | Melbourne 20-0 |
| 23rd | Goal Cameron Munster (Melbourne) | Melbourne 22-0 |
| 28th | Try Tim Lafai (Canterbury-Bankstown) | Melbourne 22-4 |
| 39th | Field Goal Cameron Munster (Melbourne) | Melbourne 23-4 |
| 43rd | Try Reimis Smith (Canterbury-Bankstown) | Melbourne 23-8 |
| 45th | Goal Tim Lafai (Canterbury-Bankstown) | Melbourne 23-10 |
| 49th | Lachlan Lewis (Canterbury-Bankstown) – SIN BIN | Melbourne 23-10 |
| 55th | Try Suliasi Vunivalu (Melbourne) | Melbourne 27-10 |
| 56th | Goal Nicholas Hynes (Melbourne) | Melbourne 29-10 |
| 59th | Try Kenneath Bromwich (Melbourne) | Melbourne 33-10 |
| 61st | Goal Nicholas Hynes (Melbourne) | Melbourne 35-10 |
| 78th | Try Josh Addo-Carr (Melbourne) | Melbourne 39-10 |
| 79th | Goal Nicholas Hynes (Melbourne) | Melbourne 41-10 |
MATCH SUMMARY
1st Half
No Cameron Smith, no Ryan Papenhauzen, no Dale Finucane, but no problems for the Melbourne Storm.
The Bulldogs slumped to a new low despite a promising start, leaving interim coach Steve Georgiallis and fans alike scratching their heads.
A good start from the Bulldogs saw a wealth of possession fall their way but, as usual, points were hard to come by for the blue and whites.
Jake Averillo shanked a penalty goal from in front of the posts before a huge hit from
Dylan Napa forced another Storm error.
Back-to-back-to-back sets were defended by Melbourne before Josh Addo-Carr took an intercept for a length-of-the-field try and a six-point lead, despite having next-to-no ball.
It was a purple blitz, with the Storm making breaks at will, while six-again calls hampered the Bulldogs’ defence.
Stand in full-back Nicho Hynes strolled over for the easiest of tries thanks to some paltry defence.
Justin Olam blasted through a hole on the Bulldogs’ disastrous right hand side to extend the lead just minutes later.
The embarrassment for the Bulldogs continued with Kenny Bromwich crashing over – again on the Bulldogs’ right side – for a 22-point lead just moments after the Bunker denied him.
A small reprieve for the Dogs came when Tim Lafai touched down out wide from a Kieran Foran floating pass 10 minutes from the break. Nick Meaney failed to convert.
It was back-and-forth for the rest of the half before Cameron Munster slotted a field goal as the siren sounded.
2nd Half
Both teams looked switched on for the second stanza, but it was the Bulldogs scoring first with Reimis Smith – who replaced the injured Averillo in the first half – latching onto a Foran bomb. Lafai converted to cut the deficit to 13.
Uncharacteristic Storm errors gave the Bulldogs field position, however their inability to play anything other than one-up forward football was frustrating for their fans.
Matters were made worse when Lachlan Lewis caught Munster high and was controversially placed in the sin bin.
Moments later Munster was caught awkwardly in a tackle and left the field with a knee injury.
Suliasi Vunivalu got into the try-scoring action with a horrendous pass from Josh Jackson seeing the rangy winger toe ahead and score under the posts.
Kenny Bromwich bagged his second with another crash-over play through some flimsy defence.
Craig Bellamy won’t be happy at the sloppy errors his side dished up once the game was in the bag, hitting double figures in the error count with 10 minutes to play.
Addo-Carr chased a long kick on the hooter and was rewarded with his second of the afternoon, rubbing salt into the wounds.
The Storm temporarily moved to top spot with the win, while Canterbury remains in last place.
GAME HIGHLIGHT
Trailing 23-10 early in the second half, the Bulldogs were attacking the Storm’s line, looking for a try to give them a real sniff in the final 20 minutes. A wayward pass from Josh Jackson was picked up by Suliasi Vunivalu, who toed ahead, regathered, and ran 80 metres untouched. It blew out the Storm’s lead to 19 and broke the Bulldogs’ backs.
SQUADS
Melbourne Storm: 1. Nicholas Hynes 2. Suliasi Vunivalu 3. Tom Eisenhuth 4. Justin Olam 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Brandon Smith 10. Christian Welch 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane 15. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. Interchange: 14. Ryley Jacks 16. Albert Vete 17. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 19. Chris Lewis.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs: 1. Nick Meaney 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Tim Lafai 4. Jake Averillo 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Kieran Foran 7. Lachlan Lewis 8. Ofahiki Ogden 9. Sione Katoa 10. Dylan Napa 11. Josh Jackson 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 13. Luke Thompson. Interchange: 14. Jeremy Marshall-King 15. Aiden Tolman 16. Sauaso Sue 17. Reimis Smith.
