Olam shines as Sea Eagles rue poor execution

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Melbourne Storm v Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

A hat-trick from Justin Olam has seen the Melbourne Storm end the Manly Sea Eagles' season with a clinical 30-6 win at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

Scoring six tries to one to move into outright second on the premiership ladder, the Storm led from start to finish as the Sea Eagles were left to lament a string of missed opportunities.

Avoiding an early scare after Reuben Garrick failed to ground a terrific cross-field kick from Jake Trbojevic, the Storm were rewarded for a wealth of possession with Olam (11th minute) exposing debutant Albert Hopoate down the left edge. 

Hitting back moments later through Addin Fonua-Blake (15th minute), a beautiful pass from fellow bookend Martin Taupau allowed the Manly big man to touch down for his third try of the season.

Returning after a month on the sidelines with an injured AC joint, Cameron Smith showed tremendous vision to kick from inside his own half to set up a try for Josh Addo-Carr (22nd minute).

Taking advantage of a successful captain's challenge call close to the Sea Eagles' try-line, a barge-over effort from Nelson Asofa-Solomona (25th minute) allowed the Storm to take a 14-6 lead to the change of ends.

With Manly squandering a chance to post points after a mix up involving Cade Cust and Trbojevic, a brilliant left side raid featuring Ryan Papenhuyzen and Addo-Carr enabled Olam (48th minute) to touch down for his second.

Trailing 18-6 heading into the final quarter, Brad Parker summed up the afternoon for the visitors after failing to ground the ball over the try-line.

Securing the result with a thrilling passage of play finished off by Olam (65th minute), a dashing run on fulltime from Addo-Carr (80th minute) saw the Storm run out 30-6 winners.

In the only negatives for the victors, returning outside back Marion Seve suffered a suspected ACL tear in the first half, while Nelson Asofa-Solomona sat out the second half with a calf injury.

Next week, the Storm face the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium on Friday night, while the Sea Eagle return to Lottoland to host the Tigers on Saturday evening.