Melbourne maintains dominance over Brisbane

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Melbourne Storm v Brisbane Broncos

The Melbourne Storm have extended their dominance over the Brisbane Broncos to 11 consecutive victories with a 32-20 win at AAMI Park.

Rallying from a 16-6 deficit late in the opening half, Melbourne halfback Jahrome Hughes guided the home side back into the contest to the delight of the largest regular season crowd recorded at AAMI Park, excluding ANZAC Day fixtures, since the onset of the pandemic. 

Getting off to a positive start with Harry Grant delivering a short pass close to the try line, Fijian front-rower Tui Kamikamica (8th minute) made the most of his chance in the starting side by crossing for his first try of the season.

Holding off a further try to Dean Ieremia that was overturned by the bunker upon review, the Broncos responded with Corey Oates (17th minute) finishing off a spectacular over the head pass from Kurt Capewell.

Going from one end of the field to the other after Justin Olam was denied a four-pointer due to an obstruction call against Cameron Munster, Oates (24th minute) collected his second despite Hughes appearing to be impeded in the lead up.

Continuing the flow of points with Ieremia losing the ball from a kick-return, former Newcastle and Gold Coast playmaker Tyrone Roberts showed his experience with a sensational cut-out pass for Selwyn Cobbo (26th minute) to score.  

Facing a ten-point deficit shortly before the break, Hughes took it upon himself to level the scores by chipping early in the tackle count for Munster (35th minute) before combining with Nick Meaney to collect a try of his own (38th minute).

Striking a crucial blow shortly before the hour mark, Melbourne made the most of field position from a penalty with Ieremia (56th minute) breaking the halftime deadlock.

Securing the victory to the delight of 19,253 supporters with a left side shift involving all of the side's spine players, Ieremia (63rd minute) slid over to collect his second try of the evening.

Finishing the scoring with Hughes (74th minute) taking on the line and diving on his own grubber, the visitors had the final say of the evening with Ezra Mam (78th minute) finishing off a length of the field break from Billy Walters moments before the final siren.

Following next week's representative weekend, the Storm will travel to 4 Pines Park for a Thursday night encounter against the Sea Eagles, while the Broncos will face the Cowboys at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday evening.