Melbourne steal a final minute 20-18 win against Cronulla Sharks

THE NRL's heartbreak kids did it again scoring two tries in the final three minutes to stun Cronulla 20-18 at AAMI Park.

THE NRL's heartbreak kids did it again scoring two tries in the final three minutes to thwart Cronulla's quest for a home final with a 20-18 last-gasp win.

Up 18-10 with just three minutes to go, helped by a questionable no try-decision against the home team in the 54th minute, the Sharks looked like their more controlled, precise play would earn them just rewards.

But the team that has come from behind to record wins in the past two weeks would not be denied and continued to push allowing Ryan Hoffman to reach over in the 78th minute.

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Then with less then 90 seconds left Storm went the full length of the field from the re-start, with breaks left and right including a crucial bust from Billy Slater which put Melbourne in attacking territory.

And finally it was the right-edge combination of Sisa Waqa and Will Chambers who, composed as they had been all night in spite of their more error-prone teammates, sealed the deal.

Gallery: Storm v Sharks

Waqa, the Fijian flyer who earlier scored his fifth try in four games, was somehow inside his centre Chambers and sped right after a feed from Slater.

He paced towards Chambers who sped along the touch-line, caught the pass and raced in to score the winning try.

"We were very lucky tonight, really lucky," Storm coach Craig Bellamy said.

"We couldn't hang on to the ball in the first half and they were just simple errors. There's nothing there that can't be fixed, but we need the attitude that when we have the footy, we are in control of it."

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan too was left to rue basic errors, kicking from his perspective, in the dying minutes and his team couldn't close out the game.

"We probably should have won. That last five minutes is something I'd like to forget," he said.

"We did a few things wrong, we probably could have kicked better. They scored two tries off tackle five and in the big games ahead we need to defend those things."

In victory Melbourne sewed up second spot on the ladder but did so in the most unconvincing fashion, only tenacity and a never-say-die attitude, traits the Sharks too showed, got them home.

Cronulla controlled the football and pushed home every advantage with precise play where Melbourne could not to make the best going for most of the night.

That advantage looked to be lost when Storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop seemed to put his team in front 16-14 after a magic left-foot step .

But video referee Chris Ward ruled Hoffman had caused an obstruction. The ruling though got the all-clear from Bellamy, although he wasn't convinced every decision on the night was the right one.

As if to rub salt in the home fans' raw wounds the Sharks went up the other end and replacement fullback Isaac Gordon went over in the corner for his team's third try, and what for all money looked the match winner.

Storm needed to score twice in the run home but continued to turn the ball over as they had all night, reflected in their 17 errors to nine and a horrible 61 per cent completion rate.

Hoffman, though a hero in the end, could have been a villain racking up five errors, his back-row partner Sika Mau with three was not much better.

The home team had more of the ball but gave it up cheaply when it did, while the Sharks were much more respectful of possession. .

But when Melbourne needed to hang on to the ball it did, the two late tries came, the crowd erupted and the Sharks slumped, another 200m game from skipper Paul Gallen in vain.

MELBOURNE 20 (R Hoffman 2 W Chambers S Waqa tries C Smith 2 goals) bt CRONULLA 18 (I Gordon N Stapleton S Tagataese tries T Carney 3 goals) at AAMI Park. Referees: Shayne Hayne, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 12,847.