Melbourne Storm have secured a thrilling victory thanks to a late surge against the Warriors in Auckland.
A Cooper Cronk field goal with the scores locked at 14-14 followed by a 50 metre try from Marika Koroibete sealed the thrilling victory which allowed Melbourne to continue their unbeaten run in 2016.
After defending the Warriors on their own try-line to start the match, Melbourne began to build a sustained period of pressure and were duly rewarded after a clever kick from Cooper Cronk.
The halfback’s grubber duly found Kenny Bromwich steaming in off the left edge.
The Warriors responded shortly after, finding space on the right wing for Tuimoala Lolohea to hit back.
Despite conceding, Craig Bellamy’s side managed to continue to control the majority of possession and field position. Forcing the hosts to defend repeat sets, the weight of possession was converted into points for Melbourne when fullback Cameron Munster latched onto the end of a slick move involving captain Cameron Smith, Cronk and Jesse Bromwich.
Following the half-time break, Solomone Kata gave the home fans exactly what they wanted when he burrowed underneath the Storm defence from dummy half to score the first points of the second stanza and draw his side closer.
Gaining momentum and confidence following the Kata try, the Warriors begun to look more dangerous in attack, asking more questions of the Melbourne defence.
With the home crowd beginning to become a factor, Storm held on bravely, making the most of their late opportunities to score their third win of 2016.
Melbourne Storm 21
Tries: Kenny Bromwich, Cameron Munster, Marika Koroibete
Goals: Cameron Smith 4
Field goal: Cooper Cronk
Defeated.
Warriors 14
Tries: Tuimoala Lolohea, Solomone Kata, Jonathan Wright
Goals: Shaun Johnson 1
Be at AAMI Park when Storm host the Knights on Saturday 2 April from 3pm.
