Storm front moves through South Sydney

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South Sydney Rabbitohs v Melbourne Storm

The Melbourne Storm find just enough in the tank to hold out against Souths 28-16 at Accor Stadium.

In a game that is sure not to have Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy singing high praises, the Storm looked flat. And all though they had their moments of Storm magic, it wasn't backed up with support in play, which left them looking ordinary in the run for the Minor Premiership and finals.

The first half saw Souths make the most of an early error, with Tui Kamikamica fumbling the ball early in the attack. Melbourne seemed rusty, and Souths looked like they would make them pay.

But whether the players could feel their ears burning from the coaches' box or not, they showed great resolve to hold the line against the early trouble. With the first chance down the end of Souths field, they found a try early as they moved through the hand quickly down the right side, and Warbrick went over, and it was 6-0 in the 8th minute as Nick Meany slotted it over the crossbar.

But Melbourne kept inviting the Rabbitohs down their end of the field with easy errors, being inside the 10m and giving away set restarts. 

Melbourne, to their credit, kept getting the ball down to Souths line, but in the 19th minute, a wayward pass by Ryan Papenhuyzen gave Fletcher Myers a 70m corridor to get his first NRL try up in front of the home crowd and the boy showed he had pace not letting Paps get close. Myers missed the conversion, and it was a two-point game.

It was this try that seemed to switch the Storm up a gear, and they charged back down to the Souths quarter. The writing was on the wall as Grant Anderson went over with three Souths players on the left edge for no try. In the next set, Nelson Asofa-Solomona proved to irresistible to the try line and stormed over with Meaney's conversion, putting the game at 12-4 in the 24th minute.

It was only minutes later when the Storm put on another attacking raid, but Souths were showing some frustration and fatigue with Murray catching Harry Grant high. Down in the Souths quarter again and, Jahrome Hughes caught the Souths backs lacking, putting a chip over to be snatched up by  Will Warbrick for his second of the game. With Meaney missing the conversion, the Storm were up 16-4.

That lead continued to grow as the fresh legs of Tyran Wishart scampered out of dummy half, eating up 25 meters to find Papenhuyzen in support for his first try of the night. The Meaney conversion put the game at 22-4 in the 35th minute, and it looked like an easy night for the Storm.

It was a first half all for the Storm, with big names from Hughes, Munster, and Asofa-Solomona. While Souths were trying to find rhythm it was Murray and Koloamatangi who were doing the hard yards for the team.

The second half started as we expected, with Papenhuyzen returning an early end-of-set kick to run from his 30m with Grant Anderson in support to notch up the first points of the half, and it was 26-4 at the 44-minute mark.

From here, it seemed the Storm ran out of enthusiasm, and Souths got a whiff of it. An arm wrestle ensued for the next 10 minutes, with a smart kick by Jye Gray pinning the Storm on their line. A quick movement left for the Rabbits and a great though-the-legs pass by Taane Mile to Fletcher Myers gave the young winger his second try. And the game was at 26-10.

Souths continued to apply pressure while the Storm went through the motions and lacked any intensity you would expect from a team on top of the ladder.

An error by Melbourne's Chris Lewis gave the Bunnies a scrum on the Strom 40m line; the next set of six and Souths were at the Storms line. The scrambling defence wasn't good enough, and Cameron Murray hit a ball from Cody Walker at speed to barge over. Myers' conversion made it a 10-point game, and Souths began to get belief.

But fatigue was setting in for both sides, and belief couldn't keep the ball in Keaon Koloamatangi's hands. Harry Grant swooped up the fumble, and Melbourne started to try to build some momentum to hold onto the game.

With the Storm's attack in the last minutes on the Rabbits' line becoming too much, a late high shot on Munster by Murray gave the visitors a chance for easy points and a chance to eat up time on the clock.

Meaney put penalty conversion over the black dot, and the siren rang for the Storm 28-16.

Although some vintage performances from the Storm's best players, they all seemed to lack intensity in the middle of the second half. This is where Souths seemed to find their second wind, and if they had more polish, they may have pushed for extra time.

Even though the season is over for them, Souths showed some good fight to get back in the game, and they head to Campbelltown to take on Wests next round.

The Strom will no doubt be asking what they must do to be battle-ready as they face off against a Penrith Panthers outfit that is hitting their straps. The Storm tonight looking as hot as they can, and will have to put in a good week ahead of their clash with the defending premiers next Thursday at Bluebet Stadium.