Melbourne Storm defeat Parramatta Eels 16-10 in first game without Jahrome Hughes
Melbourne emerged from CommBank Stadium with the points over Parramatta, but it wasn’t the kind of performance that will strike fear into their premiership rivals.
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The Storm have passed their first test without injured halfback Jahrome Hughes, but it wasn’t the sort of performance that will strike fear into their premiership rivals after they survived an off night with the boot from Ryan Papenhuyzen to edge the Eels.
The 16-10 win moves Melbourne into second spot for now but there are still major questions over their attack with Storm fans hoping to see their re-signed playmaker back in time for the finals.
Cameron Munster set up the first try of the night with a perfect kick for Eli Katoa and then set up the high-flying Xavier Coates for the winner with another kick that saw the winger sail over Zac Lomax to cross with 11 minutes to go.
But they clearly missed the reigning Dally M Medal winner on the right edge, with Tyran Wishart not having much of an impact.
Jonah Pezet came on with 12 minutes to go and could be an option given he’s a traditional halfback which would allow Wishart to go back to the bench and carve up against tiring forwards.
While the attack wasn’t at its clinical best, Craig Bellamy would have been thrilled with Stefano Utoikamanu who had his best game for the club, with the recruit busting four tackles in a crucial run a couple of plays before Coates scored the winner.
BLUE AND GOLD STANDARD
Honourable losses late in the season don’t often mean much, but it’s a slightly different story for the Eels who have come a long way in 2025 under new coach Jason Ryles.
While finals are out of the question, you only have to go back to their round one loss in Melbourne to see how far they’ve come under the rookie coach who has made sweeping changes to the team that will help them in the long run.
The Storm put 56 points on them in round one but struggled to break them down in greasy conditions, with Parramatta’s defence backing up their effort against Brisbane last week.
Their attack wasn’t as crisp as we’ve seen this year but the past couple of weeks will give Ryles the confidence that his side has the temperament and the game plan to match it with the top teams.
RYAN WHERE?
Ryan Papenhuyzen celebrated his return from a calf injury with a couple of threatening early carries, but it wasn’t a happy comeback for the man who has been linked with a move to a rival code.
In his first game in a month, the Storm fullback missed three shots at goal, including a conversion attempt from next to the posts that struck both uprights.
He sprayed a long-range penalty goal and then missed another shot that would have given them the lead late on, with Nick Meaney replacing him to slot a tricky conversion to give them a crucial six-point lead.
GUESSING GAME
Only Charlie Guymer will know if he got the ball down for Parramatta’s second try, because fans are none the wiser despite 20 replays which showed us nothing.
Guymer threw a pass that was knocked down by Coates and brilliantly regathered to score what looked like a try which was awarded by the referee.
The Bunker spent a couple of minutes looking at a stack of angles that never showed the ball on the ground, but the on-field decision was supported and thankfully didn’t decide the game.
Originally published as Melbourne Storm defeat Parramatta Eels 16-10 in first game without Jahrome Hughes
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