Storm topple Dragons in high-scoring contest

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St George Illawarra Dragons v Melbourne Storm

A try to Jahrome Hughes against the run of play with 3 minutes remaining in the game gave the Storm the match-winning lead in a contest with the Dragons which had a total of 12 tries scored.

After a safe opening to the game by both sides, the scoring began in the eighth minute when William Warbrick dived over to score in the corner. Nick Meaney failed to convert from sideline in the blustery conditions.

The Dragons hit back in the 12th minute after receiving a penalty. On the last tackle, Billy Burns was given the ball at first receiver, he dummied to pass and then stepped through the lazy inside defence to score under the posts. Ben Hunt converted.

 In the 20th minute, Ben Hunt drifted left and then dropped a lovely short ball to lead runner Tyrell Sloan, who burest through a small gap and scored a clever try. Hunt converted to give the Dragons an 8 point lead.

Just 6 minutes later, the Dragons scored again when Talatau Amone burrowed down low and just managed to get the ball down on the tryline for a good try. Hunt's conversion gave the Dragons an 18-4 lead after 27 minutes.

The Dragons had dominated field position up til this point, but then they gave away a penalty and three set restarts in the space of a minute to allow the Storm to get into the Dragons half and into the game. Then Hughes drifted right to the line, linked with Meaney, who drew the last defender before getting a good ball to Warbrick who scored in the corner. Meaney converted from the sideline.

From the very next set, the Storm moved the ball right to Eliesa Katoa, who threw a beautiful cut-out pass over the top to Warbrick, who used his blistering speed to evade two tackles and score in the corner. Meaney was unable to convert from the sideline.

The Storm in the very next set continued their resurgence, when Xavier Coates received the ball and started to run back in towards the middle, breaking through the line, then brushing off the cover tackle before scoring in the right corner. Meaney again failed to convert from the difficult angle.

Just as the halftime siren sounded, Cameron Munster had a shot at a field goal from halfway but it fell a long way short. At halftime, the scores were locked at 18 all.

3 minutes into the second half Billy Burns performed a one-on-one strip on Warbrick, after the Storm winger fumbled the ball close to his own line. Burns then reached out in a tackle and got the ball down for a good try. Hunt converted to give the Dragons a 6 point lead.

The Storm responded just a few minutes later when Hughes dished a short ball to Katoa who barged over for a good try. Meaney converted from almost in front to level the scores again.

The Storm regained the lead just 5 minutes later when a chip kick by Hughes bounced perfectly for Katoa, who regathered and scored a clever try. Meaney converted to give the Storm a 30-24 lead after 56 minutes.

With just over 5 minutes remaining in the contest, Moses Suli broke through a tackle and then got a great ball to Mikaele Ravalawa, who scored in the corner. Hunt failed to convert from the sideline.

Then with just 3 minutes left in the game, Katoa hit Hunt with a perfect and powerful tackle that forced Hunt to lose the ball. Hughes picked it up and raced 30 metres to score the match winning try. Meaney converted and then kicked a penalty goal after the fulltime siren had sounded to give the Storm a 10 point victory.