Wests Tigers hold on to defeat a weakened Melbourne Storm ten points to six at AAMI Park

FROM second-last to second place - the remarkable resurgence of Wests Tigers purred-on with a seventh straight victory in Melbourne.

Fulton Blair

WESTS Tigers chose Crown Casino to celebrate their seventh straight win last night, but the streak has been built on a conscious decision to gamble less.

In dreadful drizzle, the Tigers once again kept their fancy plays to a premium to survive a late scare and finally end a 12-year winless run in Melbourne.

Benji Marshall's composed kicking game and a safety-first effort from stand-in fullback Beau Ryan were the keys to overcoming a Storm outfit that refused to bend without their all-star spine of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk.

See how we covered the game at our match centre.

The Tigers have not lost since Marshall moved into the No.7 jersey last month with the firm directive to favour structure over flair.

The more mature approach has ensured a seamless introduction for rookie pivot Curtis Sironen, who took another step forward with solid defence and a handful of strong runs.

"It's out of my nature from the way I usually play, to bring it in and control the side and lead with composure," Marshall said.

"Sometimes I still get the urge to do something exotic."

The lone time those instincts proved irresistible came 57 seconds before the break when Marshall elected to chance a short dropout with his side 2-0 ahead.

The risk was poorly executed and from the ensuing field position Melbourne received a penalty to level after spending the previous 40 minutes on the back foot.

Nevertheless, Tigers coach Tim Sheens was not disappointed.

"It was tough to come up with points in those conditions, and I said I would've been happy to go in at nil-all," he said.

"It came up 2-all, and we just defended really well."

Apart from a diabolical period straight after the break, Melbourne could rightly say the same.

Shoddy defence on either edge saw Lote Tuqiri and Matt Utai cross in quick succession. And although both tries were not converted, the 10-2 lead appeared insurmountable.

But desperate to mark coach Craig Bellamy's 250th game appropriately, Melbourne rallied.

Dane Neilsen's 70th-minute strike avoided their first try-less sheet since the 2008 grand final.

From there an upset was on the cards until replacement half Luke Kelly, who will now join Parramatta after agreeing to a mid-season transfer yesterday, gave away possession with a careless kick in the final seconds.

"The effort was tremendous, but we just lacked the polish," Bellamy said. "We just couldn't find a way through."

Despite young prop Aaron Woods producing another barn-stormer with 47 tackles, Ryan was the unlikely hero for the Tigers after being summoned into the hot seat just minutes before kick-off.

Regular custodian Tim Moltzen strained his left hip-flexor during the warm-up, and Sheens went straight for his bomb defusal expert in anticipation of Melbourne's tactics.

"I knew they were going to run straight through the middle and kick," Sheens said.

Fulltime score:

WESTS TIGERS 10 (L Tuqiri M Utai tries B Marshall goal) bt MELBOURNE 6 (D Nielsen try G Widdop goal) at AAMI Park. Referee: Shayne Hayne, Gerard Sutton. Crowd: 11,274

Follow @Telegraph_Sport on Twitter and like Telegraph Sport on Facebook