NSW Cup Report: Round 1

History was made last weekend at AAMI Park as Melbourne Storm ran out for its inaugural match in the NSW Cup, taking on the Paramatta Eels to kick off the 2026 season.  

Playing as the curtain raiser ahead of the first NRL game of the season, Mark Russell’s outfit featured several players from last year’s Premiership winning Jersey Flegg side.

From the opening kick-off, the match proved to be a tough contest against a more-experienced Paramatta outfit. Despite the challenge, Storm’s young side showed an abundance of resilience throughout the match.

After Parramatta registered the first three tries, Angus Hinchey opened the scoring for the Storm, beating four Eels defenders with an impressive solo effort. 
Just before half-time, Luke Cesari took advantage of a loose pass by the Eels, scooping up the ball and running away to score and keep Storm within reach 28-10 at halftime.

Storm scored their third try of the night in the 64th minute through local Victorian Hugo Peel, combining nicely with Trent Toelau and Talas Abell to race away and score.

Storm finished brightly with Mitch Jennings scoring the last try of the game just before the full-time whistle.

Despite a determined effort, Storm unfortunately fell short on the scoreboard, with Eels taking the round 1 clash 22-36.