‘It’s not the tries, it’s the moments,’ Grant praises team-first Storm after hat-trick

Harry Grant could, and should, have taken the chance to enjoy a moment in the spotlight.

The Melbourne Storm skipper had just led his side into yet another preliminary final and scored a career-best three tries in the second half as his club dominated Cronulla Sharks in a 37-10 qualifying final win.

But Grant was having none of it, aside from joking that his last hat-trick was for his beloved Yeppoon Seagulls in “under-8s”, with the 26-year-old hooker at pains to give the credit to the teammates who had set up those scores.

That has been the way all year for the Storm and a big reason why they are again just two wins from the premiership.

Grant’s tries came after good work from forwards Eliesa Katoa and Josh King, but it was Grant’s quick thinking and quicker feet that got him over the line. Katoa also set up Grant for his third try, though he still had to beat a couple of defenders before running over the line.

“To be honest I didn’t do much for those tries,” said Grant, who is due to play his 100th game in the preliminary final.

Harry Grant of the Storm, black helmet, celebrates with Jahrome Hughes and other teammates after scoring a try.Credit: Getty Images

“Eli – he’s competing, and you could see that whenever the ball was in the air. He didn’t shy away from the contest, he went after it and those are big moments in a game – all I did was keep my feet moving.

“Josh King - he’s been awesome for us all year. He leads from the front and has really taken that role on this year. When he talks and he acts, the boys follow.”

Grant’s reaction is emblematic of the Storm’s approach to their attack this season. They have 126 tries from 25 games (the second highest behind the Roosters) but just one player inside the top 15 try-scorers.

Halfback Jahrome Hughes has led the playmaking with 26 try assists along with nine tries while, according to Zerotackle.com, the Storm have had 22 individual try scorers in 2024.

“Everyone in the team is just playing their role, doing their bit and we are all reaping the rewards,” Grant added. “It’s not the tries that count, it’s the moments that lead up to it.”

The Storm are embracing their status as the last Melbourne side left in the AFL or NRL finals after Hawthorn’s exit on Friday night, and Grant has added his own nod to Aussie rules to his try scoring celebrations by executing a rugged-looking handball.

“It’s become a trademark now, I guess we are in Victoria, AFL country, so I might roll with it for a little bit,” he said.

Hopefully, we can get a lot more people jumping on the bandwagon.”

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