Melbourne Storm shatter 87-year-old record in Dragons demolition job

The Melbourne Storm have climbed to top spot of the NRL ladder, bettering a record that has stood since 1935 in the process.

Jahrome Hughes of the Storm. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

A hamstring injury to superstar fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen and a long-term injury to centre Reimis Smith has put a bit of dampener on Melbourne Storm’s thrill of moving to the top of the NRL ladder.

Papenhuyzen, the competition’s leading points scorer, scored a breathtaking try in the second half, but came up clutching his hamstring and took no further part in the game.

The 23-year-old is in serious doubt for the Storm’s Magic Round blockbuster with Penrith Panthers on Saturday night with what club officials are calling a low grade hamstring.

Watch every game of Magic Round this weekend Live & Ad-Break Free In Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

Despite leaving the game midway through the second half, Papenhuyzen had a major say in the Storm’s 42-6 win over St George Illawarra Dragons at AAMI Park on Sunday, scoring two tries and two goals for a 12-point game, to make it a league-best 127 points on the season.

It was not the only time Papenhuyzen found himself in the hands of the trainers.

In the first half, there was a hush over the stadium when he went down clutching a knee.

He soon jumped up and joined the defensive line before scoring the game’s opening try.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy said with the benefit of hindsight, he might have pulled Papenhuyzen from the game earlier.

“I’m not sure with that knee, even if he hadn’t got the hamstring, whether he would be playing in the next couple of weeks anyway,” he said.

“A couple of injuries to deal with, so we’re going to have to find ourselves a fullback for the next couple of weeks.”

The Storm suffered a massive blow when centre Smith went off with a pectoral tear.

Smith was in significant pain on the sidelines and will be out for the next 10-12 weeks.

“He’s torn his pec, so he won’t be back right until the end of the year,” Bellamy said.

Bellamy praised Tyran Wishart for his spare part’s role, filling in for both Smith and Papenhuyzen at points during the game.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona of the Storm celebrates after scoring a try. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The Storm met stern resistance from the Dragons defensive line in the first half, taking a 12-0 lead into the break, but it was all one-way traffic in the second half.

Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Hughes, Cameron Munster, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Trent Loiero all joined in on the carnage with tries.

It brought an abrupt end to the Dragons three-game winning streak, while it was a sixth consecutive win for the red-hot Storm.

The Storm now hold the record for most points scored through nine rounds in NRL history, bettering previous record-holders the 1935 Roosters team.

Milestone men

Playing in their 200th and 150th games respectively, Storm fan favourites Kenny Bromwich and Asofa-Solomona were never too far away from the action.

Bromwich became just the eighth player in Storm history to reach 200 games.

Asofa-Solomona marked his milestone with a second half try, almost taking the air out of the ball when he slammed the ball down in his celebration.

Bromwich received a standing ovation when he went off late for a HIA.

Molo on report

A dirty day for the Dragons got worse when prop forward Francis Molo found himself on report.

Molo did little to endear himself to the Melbourne natives, putting a little extra spice in a tackle on milestone man Kenny Bromwich.

Late consolation

Despite the blow out on the scoreline, the Dragons were hellbent on not recording a duck egg on their first trip to Melbourne since 2018.

Lock forward Jack de Belin found his way over the line through a Talatau Amone assist.

Originally published as Melbourne Storm shatter 87-year-old record in Dragons demolition job