Melbourne Storm hang on for gritty win after late show from Newcastle Knights threatens upset

THE Knights put in a much improved performance against a Storm side that looked to be nursing an Origin hangover but couldn’t quite cause an upset.

Cameron Smith runs the ball for the Storm.

CRAIG Bellamy’s coaching record suggests he doesn’t make too many wrong calls.

So when his gut told him his Origin stars Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk needed to back up against bottom-placed Newcastle yesterday, he didn’t second guess himself.

Just as well.

For even with Smith and Cronk and the returning Cameron Munster and Will Chambers, the Storm were given a hell of a fright by a brave Knights side at Hunter Stadium.

“It doesn’t matter where we are on the table or where they are on the table, they always seem to give us a hard time,” the Storm coach said later.

So while there were those who thought it the perfect time to rest the two Maroons stars, Bellamy showed why he is one of the game’s great coaches.

“I didn’t want to send that message that we are playing a team that’s on the bottom of the table and we’ll rest our Origin players,” he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll give them a rest at some stage but I didn’t think this was the right game for it.”

And so it turned out.

The Knights have won just once all season and were facing a 10th straight defeat. But they didn’t play like it.

With a heap of first half possession, they were unlucky to be behind 8-6 at halftime and while the Storm never surrendered the lead in the second 40, they were never comfortable with their advantage either.

They got out to 14-6 and 20-10 but could not completely shake their opponents.

In the end, Munster was forced to defuse a bomb near his own line in the dying seconds to ensure the win after Knights fullback Jake Mamo had outleapt him just minutes earlier to score the try that gave his side a late sniff.

“They were really unlucky they didn’t get the points,” Bellamy said of the Knights.

“Our defence held us in the game again. We were good enough defensively and that’s probably got us our win.”

That and the brilliance of Fijian wingers Marika Koroibete, who score a double including a 85 metre effort in the first half, and Suliasi Vunilvalu, who crossed for his 17th try in 11 games.

The Storm were adamant a first half Mamo try should have been pulled back for an obstruction but you had to admire the fight in the Knights after such a tough season.

They lost luckless prop Robbie Rochow to a pectoral injury late in the first half which will require scans but the likes of forwards Korbin Sims, Sione Mata’utia and Mitch Barnett in the forwards and Mamo at fullback for the injured Dane Gagai all stood up while Jarrod Mullen’s return after two months out made a huge difference.

“I think everyone would agree we are a far better football team than we were 10 weeks ago,” Knights coach Nathan Brown said.

“The people we’ve brought in are helping us move forward and I think the development all the younger kids are getting with all the games is helping us improve.”

Despite going close to pulling off an upset, Brown believes Melbourne is the team to beat for the title.

“If they are not the best side in the comp, they are in the top two or three,” he said.

“Melbourne’s had to use a lot of personnel and the fact they are still second, I really fancy that if they are fit, they will be there on the last weekend of the year.

“Whether they play the Cowboys or Cronulla or Canterbury or whoever they play, I just feel watching them play this year, they are a better football team than last season.

MELBOURNE 20 (M Koroibete 2 T Harris S Vunivalu tries C Smith 2 goals) bt NEWCASTLE 16 (J Mamo 2 B Elliot tries T Hodkinson 2 goals) at Hunter Stadium. Referee: Gavin Reynolds, Henry Perenara. Crowd: 10,748.