NSW Cup Report: Round 20

Melbourne Storm’s NSW Cup side produced a determined second-half comeback but ultimately fell 27-18 to the Sydney Roosters in Round 20 at Allianz Stadium.

Storm made the perfect start, opening the scoring through Hayden Watson, chasing through a clever kick before landing on a favourable bounce to score, giving Storm an early 6-0 lead.

The Roosters responded with two first half tries to get ahead, taking a 12-6 advantage into the break despite Storm remaining firmly in the contest. The home side extended their lead shortly after halftime, however Melbourne refused to go away.

Angus Hinchey sparked Storm’s comeback in the 54th minute, crashing over after sustained attacking pressure to reduce the deficit.

Just five minutes later, Hinchey crossed again after powering through the Roosters defence to complete his second try of the afternoon and level the scores at 18-all.

Despite momentum on Melbourne’s side, a crucial Roosters try shifted the contest back into the home sides favour, with a late field goal sealing the 27-18 result.

Despite the result, Melbourne showed plenty of resilience to fight back from 18-6 down and will take confidence from their second-half performance as they prepare to face South Sydney from Sydney next weekend for Round 21.