Melbourne Storm won 52-4 against Parramatta Eels at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium to kick off the Australian portion of the NRL season on Thursday night.
The first flashpoint of the game came not with points but with a sin bin. J'maine Hopgood was binned for a high shot which took Alex MacDonald out of the contest.
The Eels shocked the Storm with the first try of the game. It was a slick backline move which ended with Sean Russell going over in the left corner for 4-0.
The hosts responded in supreme style to score three tries and take a 14-point lead into the half-time break. It started with a superb pass from Jahrome Hughes which sent William Warbrick over.
Next, it was a great solo effort from Harry Grant. The hooker scooted out of dummy-half and sliced through the Eels defence to streak away for a 12-4 lead.
Storm went back to their right again to score their third. Hughes was involved again, he gave it to a steaming Jack Howarth to nudge over for the four-pointer.
They picked up where left off in the second half. Hughes again was the provider, he slipped a short pass to Joe Chan to crash over for 24-4.
Grant got himself a brace and extended the lead to 25. He spotted some lazy defenders on the line and burrowed over from close range.
It was one-way traffic in the second half, all for the home side. They moved the ball left with quick hands and Moses Leo went over for his first NRL try.
Playing at fullback, Sualauvi Faalogo put his stamp on the game late. He got some space, chipped it for himself and recovered it to touch down for 42-4.
Munster got involved in the act with a swift kick of his own. He took a low pass and punched the kick through for Ativalu Lisati to add himself to the list.
Storm passed the half century in style right near the end! It came from a Lisati offload then some combination play kept it alive for Faalogo to get his second and make it 52-4.