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For 40 minutes, the second least experienced team in NRL history had Red V on the rocks, but now Melbourne faces eager wait as its seemingly annual September fight drama resurfaces.
The Storm second defenders saw a four-to-two first half disintegrated in a 30-22 loss to the Dragons on Sunday, a result unrelated to their position on the ladder or the situation in the final.
Knowing this, Melbourne drew a lineup with just 547 games of previous NRL experience behind them.
In perspective, only the famous 2002 Craig Bellamy-trained Baby Broncos (456 games) have made it into the paddock with fewer in their collective names, while absent captain Cameron Smith watched from Queensland with 427 starts on his own.
Smith and the best part of a dozen Storm troops will return for Saturday’s showdown with Parramatta, while Melbourne’s fringe players will be a man impressed with their much-needed playing time.
King placed in report for tackle on Lawrie
But as seems to be the case with most final series, the fight will have the tongue flicking throughout the week after an ugly tackle from Max King saw Blake Lawrie twist awkwardly before Storm’s pillar fell on his ankle. .
King was briefed on the incident, while Tui Kamikamica may also face repercussions for a strong late shot on Dragons rookie Jayden Sullivan that came before the Fijian was forced to retire with an ankle injury.
Panthers great Greg Alexander was scathing in Fox Sports comments, claiming there was “intent to injure” at King’s tackle.
Bellamy backs King, says finals are his only focus
“I think that incident in itself deserves 10 minutes in the bin,” Alexander said.
“That’s foul play, that’s obvious foul play. That started this year. [the hip-drop tackle].
“That is meant to injure, that’s what he has.”
Despite losing a galaxy of regular stars, only Ryan Papenhuyzen’s four missing side conversions, with a decent breeze wreaking havoc, kept the Dragons in it for the first half.
With Papenhuyzen playing puppeteer, Melbourne ran on four attempts, three of them in the first 19 minutes, as the home team struggled to keep up.
Fans on Kogarah Hill would have been watching the exit at that point, only for Zac Lomax and Matt Dufty to get them on their feet for the right reasons.
The former moved a ball forward for the latter to pick it up and land after a break from Cody Ramsey to put the Dragons on the board. Kamikamica’s shot at Sullivan came in the run-up.
An attempt by Tyson Frizell before the break, again from a short ball from Dufty, kept them in, before No. 1 gun and rookie Sullivan took over in the second half.
Lomax’s 63rd-minute try penalty, awarded as Ricky Leutele illegally deflected him from the ball in search of a grubber, gave St George Illawarra an advantage that Melbourne threatened but never faltered.
Kamikamica is late for Sullivan
A bit of midfield brilliance from captain Cam McInnes then extended it, with Dufty escaping for a 24-16 lead.
His livewire partner Nicho Hynes kept the Storm on him, albeit 12 minutes later, digging and rallying for an impressive solo attempt and a two-point ball game.
Josh Kerr and Paul Momirovski’s denied kicks attempts kept the Bunker busy and the result on the razor’s edge, until a 77-minute chip from 19-year-old Sullivan sat down for Frizell to seal him with his second.
