Junior Report: Round 14

Melbourne Storm U21s cemented their place at the top of the Jersey Flegg ladder with a commanding 32-16 victory over the Penrith Panthers at AAMI Park.

Mark Russell’s side stormed home with 22 unanswered points in the second half, overturning a 16-10 half-time deficit to secure their third win on the bounce.

In front of a vocal home crowd, Storm struck early, opening the scoring inside the first two minutes. Centre Mitchell Jennings crossed for the opener, finishing off a fluid move that began with a wide ball from Hugo Peel to winger Amaziah Murgha, who delivered a clever inside offload to set up the try.

However, momentum shifted midway through the first half, with the Panthers responding with two quick tries to take a 10-4 lead.

Storm hit back in the 34th minute through Cooper Clarke, with Dylan Brettle adding the extras to close the gap to 10-12. The visitors had the final say before the break, scoring again on the stroke of half-time to carry a 16-10 lead into the sheds.

The second half belonged entirely to Mark Russell’s team.

Stanley Huen crashed over in the 50th minute to level the scores, before Lockyer-Azile Foliola powered over near the posts to give the home side a 22-16 lead.

Frank Howarth extended the margin with a sharp finish down the wing, latching onto an inside ball from winger Luke Cesari. Brettle added the conversion to put the result beyond doubt.

Jennings sealed the result with his second try in the 74th minute, while Brettle finished the afternoon with four goals from his six attempts.

The win sees Storm extend their lead at the top of the Jersey Flegg ladder, with 10 wins from their opening 13 games.

They’ll look to continue their winning form in Round 15 this Saturday, hosting the third-placed Canberra Raiders at Seabrook Reserve, kick-off 11:30am.