Melbourne break away late to down Warriors

v BYE

Playing against their bogey side, the Melbourne Storm have rallied late to defeat the New Zealand Warriors 21-14 at Mt Smart Stadium.

The tension was high late in the game as the Warriors were able to lead the Storm 14-12 with 13 minutes to play.  

A penalty goal in the 68th minute from 25 metres out allowed Cameron Smith to tie the scores and harness the momentum of the match. 

It was the Warriors however who looked most likely to take lead in the 74th minute, however a dropped pass from Bodene Thompson laid the platform for Melbourne.

The resulting set gave Cooper Cronk a field goal attempt in front of the posts from 30 metres out and despite a charge down challenge from two defenders, the Storm gained a 15-14 lead in the 76th miunte. 

Thompson was again at the centre of attention in the 78th minute when he made a half break on Melbourne's right edge. His offload for Tuimoala Lolohea went to ground and Marika Koroibete caught and ran the ball 50 metres to score, blowing out the winning margin to seven points.  

The experienced trio of Cronk, Smith and Jesse Bromwich were too strong as the Warriors were fielding a patchwork team.

Isaac Luke and Manu Vatuvei were ruled out injured before kick off and Andrew McFadden reshuffled their entire back line to accommodate the losses.

NRL debutant Jazz Tevaga was rushed into the starting line up for Luke and rookie dummy half Nathaniel Roache was to play off the bench.  

Roache left the field with an injured ankle and did not return. Shortly after Tevaga was forced to the sideline for a concussion test. 

The Storm were applying the pressure early, earning three consecutive penalties when attacking at the Warriors from within 20 metres of the try line.  

It took a fifth tackle grubber from Cronk, angled towards the goal posts, for Melbourne to register their first try through Kenneath Bromwich in the 12th minute. 

Five minutes later the Warriors responded and the hard charging New Zealand forwards laid the platform for Johnson and Tuivasa-Sheck to set up a try for Tuimoala Lolohea in the right corner.  

The score remained 6-4 Melbourne until another penalty gave Jesse Bromwich the opportunity to expertly execute a short ball at the line for Cameron Munster to score in the 24th minute and take the game to the halftime score 12-4. 

In the 46th minute Solomone Kata was able to scurry over from dummy half when a run from Ryan Hoffman almost broke the visitor's line. 

Jeff Robson was able to set up Jonathan Wright a try in the 60th minute as he completed a ten metre touchline dash to give New Zealand their 14-12 lead. 

Craig Bellamy would have been pleased with his team's 89 per cent completion rate and their win placing the Storm at the top of the ladder. 

Next week both teams play on Easter Monday, with the Storm playing the Cronulla Sharks at Southern Cross Group Stadium, and the Warriors hosting the Newcastle Knights back at Mt Smart Stadium.