Melbourne Storm’s purple wall denies North Queensland revenge in grand final rematch
MELBOURNE Storm on Thursday night avoided their worst start to a season in more than a decade, holding out North Queensland 30-14 at AAMI Park.
Storm
Don't miss out on the headlines from Storm. Followed categories will be added to My News.
MELBOURNE Storm on Thursday night avoided their worst start to a season in more than a decade, holding out North Queensland 30-14 at AAMI Park.
It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but it will do, for now, as the reigning premier finds its bearings in 2018.
Make no mistake, there are cracks in the purple machine, winning just paints over them.
The attack is clunky, at best, and costly at worst.
HAPPY COACH: Freddie impressed by Blues in 2018
TOUGH LOVE: Maloney’s son prefers halves partner Cleary
CRAWLEY FILES: Why you can’t compare different eras
ANALYSIS: Five things we learned from Storm v Cowboys
Wayward offloads and fumbles left premiership-winning coach Craig Bellamy exasperated in the first half, especially as Suliasi Vunivalu, playing his 50th game, burned early chances.
Bellamy laid down the law this week, willing Storm to get back to basics.
The Storm coach was buoyed by the result, happy with the effort his side put in to get the two premiership points.
“I was just really happy with our effort tonight, it was quite frustrating at times, again, because we started off really well and then our completions started falling away,” Bellamy said.
“Just the effort with our defence tonight was a whole heap better than what it’s been and I was just really happy with that and I thought the players did a really good job there.
“The little things we wanted to do tonight and do them consistently well and try and do them for the 80 minutes.”
If there was any doubt about the message getting through it was snuffed out when Storm captain Cameron Smith called for the kicker’s tee just seven minutes into the game.
Storm was not going to leave any points on the paddock, not with Cowboys legend Johnathan Thurston playing his last game in Melbourne.
Smith knows how important it is to bank early-season wins and last night the skipper delivered on the scoreboard.
The legendary hooker was perfect with the boot, slotting four penalty goals and two conversions.
Dale Finucane did his chances of a maiden New South Wales Origin guernsey no harm, putting in another clinical performance alongside Smith.
Finucane finished with 128m from 13 carries and came within inches of a try in the second half, unable to reel in a looping over-the-shoulder pass from Billy Slater.
While Storm still has work to do offensively, the defensively the premiers stood tall.
And Bellamy knows that is what matters, especially when the grind begins mid-season.
Storm repelled wave after wave of Cowboys attack in the second half, the visitors closing to within four points, before Will Chambers and Nelson Asofa-Solomona scored in a five-minute burst.
Storm recruit Sam Kasiano endured another stop-start night after a knock to the head – his second in as many weeks – in the second half.
But the prop, who battled a niggling ankle complaint in the preseason, returned to the field shortly after to play out the game.
Originally published as Melbourne Storm’s purple wall denies North Queensland revenge in grand final rematch
NRL Off-Season Power Rankings: Surprise leader emerges, Broncos in crisis
One club has emerged as a surprise leader, with just one blemish on their premiership credentials, while the Broncos are in disarray. We reveal how every club is poised to tackle the NRL pre-season.
Storm superstar makes huge call on his future
The Storm have locked in three of their four spine members on long-term deals after skipper Harry Grant took up an option to remain with the club until the end of 2026.